UK museum faces fine over radiation

LONDON, England -- One of the Britain's top museums has been charged with exposing visitors and staff to radioactive minerals.

The Natural History Museum in central London exposed members of the public and one member of staff to radiation, the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has alleged.

Museum trustees had already admitted breaching health and safety laws and were due to be sentenced on Friday.

The charges relate to a visit by HSE inspectors to the museum's Mineral Gallery in November 1999.

Officers found failures in the storage and handling of radioactive mineral specimens.

The HSE brought a prosecution against the museum under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985.

The trustees pleaded guilty at a hearing in the Marylebone Magistrates' Court in December last year.

The maximum penalty for the breaches is an unlimited fine, the HSE said.

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The Natural History Museum
Health and Safety Executive

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