UK Business Briefs: flood assistance, solar power and E. coli

Yorkshire Water has announced that the utility is coming to the aid of Czechoslovakians caught up in the recent floods by providing a kit to purify drinking water. The equipment, comprising a pump, filters and tablets, will be given to the York-based British Civil Defence team who will then ship it to an aid agency operating in the Czech Republic and then also on to Serbia and Croatia.

Meanwhile in the world of renewable energy, BP has announced that it is to supply 87,000 state-of-the-art photovoltaic cells, which are to be used in the construction of the new TXU-Europe building in Ipswich. The 200KW project represents the largest solar installation in the UK and is scheduled for completion in December this year.

And finally, Basingstoke-based Oxoid has launched a new range of rapid diagnostic tests for the detection and identification of the most common non-O157 verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli serogroups. The Oxoid Dryspot E. coli Seroscreen and Serocheck tests provide a fast and simple screening procedure for colonies isolated on culture plates, with clearly visible results in just 60 seconds, says the company.