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This depends on your premises and its use.
Are you a healthcare provider, business owner, a company director or a charity trustee? Do you have a water system? Your water systems may be simple or very complex and may include:
For a full list of at risk areas please refer to HSG274. The following sections should be checked:
If you have answered yes to the above questions, then you need to understand the health risks associated with Legionella. Your starting point for becoming compliant is undertaking a Legionella risk assessment.
If you’re a healthcare provider, then you also need to be compliant to the ‘Health Technical Memorandum 04-01’.
The approved code of practice: ACoP L8 states that a competent person must complete the assessment. You may wish to become trained and competent in conducting risk assessments yourself. This could arguably save money but will potentially involve considerable investment of your time. A more popular option is to appoint an experienced consultant, who is P901 & P902 (or equivalent) qualified. Their expertise and experience will help to ensure that nothing is missed. Promoting safety and effective management of Legionella at your premises.
Legionella is a bacterium that is present in soils and natural water systems. The conditions that encourage the growth of the organism include:
In total around 50 species of Legionella have been identified. With L. pneumophilia being responsible for 90% of cases of Legionellosis.
Legionellosis was first identified in 1976. The identification followed an outbreak of the disease in Philadelphia. Over 220 people were infected, resulting in 34 deaths. Latest figures suggest that there are between 200-250 reported cases of Legionnaires disease each year in the U.K.
Some environments are more likely to spread Legionella. Data suggests that the settings below are more at risk from Legionella bacteria:
You can minimise the risk of contracting Legionellosis by following the guidelines outlined in ACoP L8.
The Health and Safety Executive’s approved code of practice states that as an employer or a person responsible for a premises, you must understand and do the following:
By appointing a competent person to complete your risk assessment you will meet point 1. Some consultancies provide other supporting Legionella services such as Legionella monitoring and cleaning. Partnering with a team that can offer these add-on services can assist you in meeting points 2-4.
Previous legislation detailed that a Legionella risk assessment should be reviewed every 2 years. This is no longer the case. It must be regularly reviewed to ensure it remains up to date.
Your legal requirement to undertake a Legionella risk assessment is defined under the following legislation: