Posted By peter gotch Here's one to remind consultants of their liabilities For full article check Guardian Online, 3 March Imperial College of Science fined £20,000 for exposing the public to an "unacceptable risk" from HIV. Despite warnings that it was unsafe to manufacture the virus for research, work continued in an "unsealable" laboratory. In the event of spillage, the virus could have escaped A similar fine was imposed on the college's safety advisers. The judge accepted that the chances of the virus escaping were not high and said he had had to give careful thought as to how much danger the public had been exposed to He had then had to weigh that risk "against the public interest" in research being done for the benefit of the public. Imperial College admitted breaching hazardous substances regulations Universal Safety Consultants Ltd, pleaded guilty to breaking health and safety law, and was also ordered to pay £12,033 costs. Peter