Have you operated Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour (HPV) Machines?
Did you suffer from a cough, nosebleeds, sore eyes and throat or shortness of breath?
If so, claim compensation today
Over recent years, many domestic healthcare workers in the health sector have been required to use hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) machines, such as Deprox vaporisation systems, to bio-decontaminate hospital rooms and wards.
The solutions emitted by these machines contain toxic hydrogen peroxide and silver nitrate.
HPV is a hazardous fumigant which can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, causing the user to experience symptoms such as a persistent cough, nosebleeds, sore eyes and throat and shortness of breath. This is the basis for its short-term (15 minute) Workplace Exposure Limit (STEL) of 2ppm (parts per million).
Silver nitrate is also an irritant and its use in biocidal preparations, such as in these HPV decontamination systems, is still undergoing initial approval for use in the UK and is therefore not yet authorised.
Article 17 of EU Regulation No 528/2012, states that biocidal products shall not be made available on the market or used unless authorised. The use of silver nitrate in these systems, therefore, is in contravention of this Regulation and is in fact, illegal.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) confirmed this position in November 2016 when its Chemicals Regulation Division issued the following statement:
“It would currently be illegal to make available and use a PT2 biocidal product, containing silver nitrate as the active substance, as silver nitrate has not yet been approved as a PT2 active substance and is being assessed as a new active substance.”
One manufacturer of these machines claimed in its Material Safety Data Sheet that the solution contained ‘silver’. This, however, is misleading as the associated chemical registry number (CAS: 7761-88-8) is for silver nitrate and not silver, as seen below:
It’s believed that many healthcare workers have been using these machines for long periods of time throughout their shifts, without the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks to minimise inhalation and gas monitors to measure whether concentrations of these chemicals are at a safe level before re-entering a decontaminated area.
If you have operated these machines without adequate instruction, training and PPE, then it is likely that your employer breached their duty of care to you under the provisions of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 as amended (COSHH) and you may be eligible to bring a claim for compensation of up to £10,000.00.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Call Oakwood Solicitors today on 0113 200 9720, or contact us online here for a free, no-obligation consultation with a member of the Industrial Disease Team to discuss whether you could make a claim.
Meet the author
Natasha Hardy is a Solicitor and Head of the Industrial Disease Department, specialising in Industrial Disease matters and has experience in handling a wide range of cases including claims for Noise-I…
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