Many involved leaks and spills of virus-laden fluids, but there were also investigations into flooding in animal facilities housing Covid-infected monkeys, mix-ups that led to scientists accidentally working on live virus, and a researcher bitten by an infected ferret. The Health and Safety Executive recorded at least 47 “dangerous incidents” involving the coronavirus at research facilities, hospitals and Lighthouse laboratories in the UK during the pandemic. Reports from 37 cases were shared with the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act. The rest were detained due to ongoing investigations. The reports reflect the enormous pressure scientists, health workers and staff at Lighthouse laboratories have been under as Covid sweeps Britain. Researchers’ hours skyrocketed as they scrambled to understand the deadly new virus. Meanwhile, NHS staff and rapidly deployed specialists at testing centers were pushed to breaking point. Common mishaps were spills, leaks and splashes of virus-laden fluids, some by human hands, some by robot hands, prompting rapid evacuations and clean-up operations by biohazard teams. A recurring problem at Lighthouse Labs arose from swabs in home test kits not breaking properly, causing people to squeeze them into sample tubes before screwing on the caps. This created what the HSE called a “spring coil” which turned the smears into “projectiles” when the vials were passed over for testing. In several cases, scientists worked on live virus without proper safety measures because they believed the virus had been killed, while in other incidents, samples that tested positive for Covid were transported without proper precautions. According to HSE reports, two healthcare workers at a hospital in Chichester were infected with Covid after not wearing PPE, but there is no evidence that laboratory staff caught the virus through work-related errors. In most cases staff wore appropriate PPE. The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, which is run by the UK medicines regulator, was investigated after a flood at an animal facility housing Covid-infected marmosets. The same lab was later found to be in violation of multiple safety regulations when investigators found water droplets on the lab bench and floor after the Covid stock was heated. The risk of exposure was judged to be “extremely low”, but the HSE found that the laboratory was lagging behind in planning, controlling and monitoring Covid work, did not provide sufficient information and training to enable safe handling of the virus and did not have appropriate safety drills . Public Health England’s Porton Down laboratory, which also carried out critical work in the Covid pandemic, was ordered to improve safety after a researcher was bitten by an infected ferret. An investigation into the incident in May 2020 found the animal sliced ​​through the scientist’s protective clothing and bleeding, leading managers to send the researcher home to nurse the wound and isolate. The HSE issued a “crown improvement notice” to the Wiltshire lab and asked managers to step up security at several facilities. But with staff “overwhelmed” due to “doubling the workload”, the case was not closed for a year. Allen Roberts, deputy director at Porton Down for the UK’s Health Safety Agency, (formerly Public Health England), said: “We take the safety of our laboratory scientists very seriously. The actions recommended to us by the HSE have been implemented which have helped to further strengthen the strong systems and processes in place to ensure we continue to work safely and securely.” A HSE spokesman said the “very high level of scrutiny” in the sector was reflected in its good health and safety record. “Instances of mislabeling or near misses are extremely rare. There are strict requirements for incident reporting and we also expect information sharing across the sector,” they said. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Vincent Theobald-Vega, a former HSE inspector and director of consultancy Safety 4 HEd, said biocontainment labs, the equipment used in them and many safety protocols are designed to protect against the worst effects of any incidents. But for people working in labs, there are still risks, particularly from handling samples. “Research labs are generally much more hazardous environments than process labs where simple tests are performed in a process line environment,” he said. “When these controls break down, it’s important that people understand what went wrong so that people can modify processes and try to prevent the same situation from developing next time. This is the primary purpose of research in the health and safety community,” he added. “If organizations didn’t report, we’d all know a lot less about the ways systems fail, and labs would be a lot less safe as a result.” An MHRA spokesman said staff safety was a top priority and all near misses or accidents were thoroughly investigated through internal incident investigation procedures to understand why they happened. “Following the two incidents relating to emergency procedures reported by the HSE, all emergency scenarios have been reviewed and our training updated so that staff can respond appropriately to emergency situations. These incidents were dealt with in a timely manner and do not pose a significant risk of harm to staff,” the spokesperson said. “The breach of regulations has been fully addressed with changes made to the laboratory and operating procedures for its use.”