College fined £400k after caffeine test nearly kills students

A UNIVERSITY has been fined £400,000 after two students almost died in a botched experiment to monitor the effects of caffeine intake.

Test volunteers Alex Rossetto and Luke Parkin suffered “potentially lifethreatening” side-effects when they were each given drinks containing the equivalent of 300 cups of coffee.

Both were rushed to hospital after swallowing the caffeine doses which, because of a maths miscalculation, were 100 times bigger than intended.

The students, who were both 20 and in the second year of a sports science studies degree, suffered dizziness, blurred vision and rapid heartbeat.

Both spent days in intensive care and had to undergo dialysis after the experiment at Northumbria University in Newcastle.

They also lost a lot of weight and their sports training regimes were badly affected, though they were later able to resume their studies.

Adam Farrer, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court both could have died from caffeine overdose if they had not been treated immediately. The court heard the experiment, designed to test the effects of caffeine on exercise, had previously been carried out with Pro Plus-type tablets.

But the university had switched to using pure caffeine in powder form.

Mr Rossetto was given 30.6g of this and Mr Parkin 32g, mixed into a solution of water and orange juice.

They should have been given 306mg and 320mg but decimal points were wrongly inserted in calculations based on their height and weight. Technicians working with the students were not properly trained to supervise and the lecturer did not check the calculations, the court heard.

The university’s vice chancellor and chief executive, Prof Andrew Wathey, attended the hearing with other senior staff. Peter Smith, defending, said: “They are here because they care.”

The university, which admitted breaching health and safety laws, was also ordered to pay £26,468 costs.