"Culture of secrecy" over discovery of deadly bacteria in Teddy Hall water
Students have accused Teddy Hall of keeping them in the dark about the discovery of potentially deadly legionella bacteria. The bacteria, which can result in the development of legionnaires disease, was found in the Besse block on the main Teddy Hall site during a routine inspection of the college’s water supply on 8th March. A team of environmental offices wearing protective clothing were called in to decontaminate the building’s water.
Mike Little, Managing Director of Eaton Environmental, the firm employed to clean the college’s water, confirmed to The Oxford Student that traces of legionella had been discovered. Little said, “We use very strong chemicals to treat contamination; all of our staff are instructed to wear protective clothing.
Growing numbers of Teddy Hall students have since expressed concern at the college’s handling of the contamination, claiming that they were not informed until a week after its discovery, and that the college had failed to shut off the water supply to the block. The residents of the Besse block received an email from college authorities on the day of the discovery, advising, “If you develop flu-like symptoms, you should see your GP.
and tell him or her that you may have been exposed to legionella.” While the majority of Teddy Hall students were not formally informed of the contamination until a week after its discovery, students living in Besse leaked the email to the college JCR. Edward Higbee, a Law finalist, forwarded the email to the college with a note stating, “The decision to only inform a tiny minority of students ... is deplorable.
“It appears that once again, the welfare of students has been submerged beneath the culture of secrecy that pervades the college staff.” Another resident of the block, Mjay Jegede, told The Oxford Student, “My personal water was not shut off with the others until I told my scout about it. My confidence in the college has been dented”.
Teddy Hall bursar Dr Parkin stressed that the college followed both the University and the Health and Safety Executive’s advice in dealing with the contamination. Parkin said, “We wanted to have more information before sending an email to the whole college. We sent the email to those at highest risk so that we could catch them before the vacation started.
In an unrelated incident two weeks after the contamination, students were forced to evacuate the Besse block after a fault in the building’s water system resulted in water seeping through into ground-floor shops. The residents, many of whom were finalists hoping to stay in college accommodation during the vacation, were barred from returning to their rooms for more than three weeks while a new water system was installed.
19th Apr 2007