Legionella, what is it?
In order to explain what a Legionella risk assessment is it is necessary to explain what Legionella is. Legionella is a Gram -ve bacteria capable of causing a possibly deadly infectious pneumonia type disease known as Legionellosis. The micro organism thrives in all water between the temperatures of 20 C and 45 C. Any age group can be at risk of Legionella infection if resident or working in an setting of high risk. However, men over the age of 50, in particularmen who smoke cigarettes or have immune suppressing illnesses, are statistically at higher risk of contracting the disease.
Legionellosis has 2 forms; Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever. Legionnaires’ disease causes pneumonia and can be deadly, whilst Pontiac fever is a much less severe disease with symptoms the same as those of a bad cold and is not fatal.
Threat of Legionella Infection from Domestic Water Networks
Legionella can be found in large numbers inside man-made water supply systems such as hot & cold domestic water pipes and within industrial process cooling systems. . If the environment is suitable the bacteria can multiply and colonise the system, increasing the risk of Legionnaire’s disease , particularly if the water system is connected to a shower or spray tap, as it is in these situations that people can become infected with Legionella by inhaling contaminated aerosols or water droplets.
The risk of acquiring a Legionella infection from water supplies, especially within the work place , has been considerably reduced by tighter health & safety regulations being enforced. The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health or COSHH Regulations 2002 ensure that employers manage their water systems to high enoughstandard so as to minimise infection .
Legionella Risk Assessment Providers
Legionella risk assessment companies generally offer a program of solutions that minimise the risk of Legionella infection by ensuring that guidelines are achieved. Firstly they would carry out Legionella risk assessments which would assess the risk of infection connected to the water system. This would involve a comprehensive examination of the water system to include the source of the water, if there was stored water on site such as water tanks or water heaters, what outlets werepresent and how often these were used, the type of person that may come into contact with the water system and how the water system was currently being managed to prevent the risks from Legionella.
Once the Legionella risk assessment has been carried out it is then possible to develop a routine inspection and maintenance plan to further prevent the risks . This can include routine temperature testing, Legionella sampling, cleaning and chlorination and must include record keeping .
A good Legionella assessment should allow the companies own members of staff to run a Legionella control program in order to manage the Legionella risk themselves. Most Legionella assessment companies can also provide training of staff members to ensure they are clear about their responsibilities and can effectively carry out the Legionella control tasks that they have been assigned. They can also be trained to be able to carry out Legionella management audits to sustain the effectiveness of the in-house Legionella control progrram.
