Pest Control: Director’s Briefing The Ocial BIFM Information Service Partner Why is pest control important? Pests including rats, mice, insects, birds such as feral pigeons and seagulls, foxes, flies, insects, cockroaches and other unwanted animals can spread disease. They can also cause damage to property and stock and they can leave unsightly mess and detritus which has an effect on the impression given to others about your business. What are the key risk areas associated with pests and pest control? • Zoonoses • Leptospirosis/Weils disease • infected food and food stuff • effects on human health • working at height for pest control contractors • chemical safety of pesticides. Legislation • The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, in particular the general duties of an employer to employees • the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, in particular the requirement for suitable and sufficient risk assessments to be undertaken • there are duties placed on employers through the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) which relate to the use of substances to control pests • before a pesticide can be advertised, sold, supplied, stored or used, it has to be approved under the COPR (Amendment) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/188). How should the risks associated with pests and pest control be managed? • Determine the potential for pest infestation at the site • investigate the use of physical controls such as anti-bird netting • review integrity of the perimeter of the building, seal any holes which might provide access for larger pests • ensure good housekeeping standards are maintained • adopt high standards of sanitary hygiene • implement a regime of regular property inspections • identify competent specialist pest control contractors • consult specialist contractors to determine the most suitable pest control strategy for the site • review the risk assessments for contractor activities, in particular: • working at height • COSHH assessment • personal protective equipment (PPE) for operatives • operatives training and accreditation • public liability insurance cover. Case Study In October 2010, the death of an Olympic gold medallist rower was confirmed as being caused by Weil’s disease. This is the acute human form of a bacterial infection known as Leptospirosis, mild cases of which affect millions of people worldwide every year. Disclaimer These example Director’s Briefings are provided by Barbour for general guidance on matters of interest. In making these documents available to a general and diverse audience it is not possible to anticipate the requirements or the hazards of any subscriber’s business. Users are therefore advised to carefully evaluate the contents. Barbour does not accept any liability whatsoever for injury, damage or other losses which may arise from reliance on this information and the use of these documents. Copyright of these documents remains with Barbour and whilst subscribers are permitted to make use of them for their own purposes, permission is not granted for resale of the intellectual property to third parties. JULY / AUGUST 2016 13 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY
CHT July / August 2016
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