Carbon filters at the hospital catering unit (FOI)

Request

Please could I have the following relating to the hospital catering unit at St Peter’s Technical Park over the past four years.

A

Each of the dates that any carbon filters were installed.

B

Each of the dates that any carbon filter upgrades were installed.

C

A breakdown of checks taken out on the carbon filters and what the results of those checks were.

D

Any companies that the Government has paid for the installation of carbon filters and how much was spent.

E

A breakdown of the money spent on carbon filters.

Response

A

The original carbon filters were supplied by the Main Contractor for the cooking canopies within the kitchen. These were not fitted within the filter housings until the Catering Unit was ready to go live. They were fitted on 13 August 2020. Replacement filters for the cooking canopies were fitted on 25 August 2021.

B

The original carbon filters as supplied by the Main Contractor were fitted on 13 August 2020. Replacement Carbon Filters were supplied and fitted by Health and Community Services (HCS) on 25 August 2021.

C

The carbon filters would be replaced and not checked if the odour monitoring resulted in an issue relating to their inefficiency.

The carbon filters were estimated to have a life expectancy of between 12 to 18 months depending on catering unit production hours. Replacement of the carbon filters following the first year of occupancy will now be set to 12 months unless otherwise agreed with Catering Unit Staff. The effectiveness of carbon filters in reducing cooking odour is monitored subjectively by Catering Staff and objectively by HCS engineering staff by comparing the performance of the carbon filters to manufacturers guidance on expected performance over a set period.

Officers responsible for the Production Kitchen have worked with Environmental Health to both assess and manage odours. Odours are monitored regularly by the Catering Manager and these findings are consistent with those of Environmental Health. The two parties assessed odours independently and concluded that they were of similar intensity / strength across different days, but the dispersal is affected by wind speed and direction. Environmental Health concluded “I did not believe that the odours were particularly unpleasant.” The results are not considered by Environmental Health to be a statutory nuisance.

Both parties, however, acknowledge that any assessment of “unpleasantness” will be subject to different perceptions and an understanding of what might be reasonable for a Production Kitchen operating on a Technical Park / Light Industrial Estate ie zero odour is not a reasonable expectation.

Please see the following link for details of the odour monitoring that has been undertaken.

Complaints relating to the Hospital catering unit (FOI)

D

The original carbon filters were supplied by the Main Contractor, Camerons. Replacement carbon filters were supplied by Extechnology Europe Limited and fitted by the GOJ maintenance team.

The total cost of the filters purchased to date is £11,037 which includes the original filters and replacements.

E