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Legionella
Our Service ExplainedLegionella bacteria is commonly found in water. Inhaling airborne water droplets containing legionella bacteria can cause potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease. Intergrated Compliance will help you manage legionella in hot and cold water systems and will work with you to identify and reduce the risks.
All businesses and organisations with public access to their water have a legal duty of care to ensure that a risk assessment is in place to monitor for legionella, a deadly waterborne bacterium. In the event of an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease, the authorities will require evidence of risk assessment, monitoring and maintenance, without this in place organisations will be dealt with most severely by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Failure to meet with the required compliance requirements may result in prosecution and litigation.
STEP 1
LEGIONELLA RISK ASSESMENTSYour consultant will carry out a legionella risk assessment.
Water that is used, stored, or equipment that acts as a means of
transmitting water droplets will be assessed. This may include:
- Cooling tower systems
- Evaporative condensers
- Hot & Cold Water Systems
- Spray humidifyers and air washers
- Spa baths and pools
- Firefighting systems.
STEP 2
LEGIONELLA EVALUATIONThis assessment will be reviewed every two years. This may be to review:
- Changes to the system or its use
- Changes to the use of the building
- New information on risk or control measures
- Results showing that control measures are no longer effective
Step 3
LEGIONELLA REPORTWe provide you with a Legionella Risk Assessment report covering the following:
- Site details
- Actions requiring immediate attention
- Description of premises
- Action plan
- Risk assessment
- Scheme for controlling the risk
- Photographs
- Schematics of water distribution system
- Domestic water temperatures and delivery temperatures
YOU RECIEVE
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU!
COMPLIANCE
Ensuring your business is fully compliant with Health and Safety laws.
BESPOKE WATER SAFETY DOCUMENTATION
Delivering water log books and water safety management manuals to suit your requirements.
MULTI-SKILLED CONSULTANTS
Providing quality combined risk assessments/audits
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WHAT IS LEGIONELLA?
ALSO KNOWN AS LEGIONNAIRES DISEASELegionella Pneumophila (otherwise known as Legionnaires disease) are generally associated with Legionella bacteria, of which there are over 50 known species.
Legionella bacteria are commonly found in water. Inhaling airborne water droplets containing bacteria can lead to potentially fatal Legionnaires disease. Integrated compliance can help you to manage the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria in hot and cold water systems and will work with you to identify and reduce the risks.
Where does it come from?
Legionella bacteria are prevalent in all natural water systems such as rivers, reservoirs and ponds. However due to conditions, people rarely contract the disease from these sources. Outbreaks of the disease arise from exposure to legionella, growing in purpose built systems where the water is presented within a temperature range suitable enough to boost growth. Legionella bacteria’s optimal growth temperature is 37˚C, this temperature reflects the Homeostasis (Core body Temperature) for human beings, making us susceptible to contracting Legionnaires Disease.
How do people get it?
Legionnaires disease is contracted by inhaling small water droplets (aerosols suspended in the air which contain bacteria). Specific conditions can increase the risk from legionella if:
- The water temperature distributed is between 20-45 which is an ideal temperature for growth.
- It is possible for breathable water droplets to be created and dispensed e.g. aerosol created by cooling towers, water outlets, fountains and showers.
- Stored water and/or re circulated water
- Deposits present that support bacterial growth, providing a source of nutrients for the organism e.g. rust sludge scale, organic matter and biofilms
FAQ’s
How do I carry out a Legionella risk assessment?
The purpose of carrying out a risk assessment is to identify and assess any risks in your water system. The responsible person should understand your water systems and any associated equipment, in order to conclude whether the system is likely to create a risk from exposure to legionella, and should be able to identify whether:
- water is stored or re-circulated as part of your system
- the water temperature in some or all parts of the system is between 20–45 °C
- there are sources of nutrients such as rust, sludge, scale and organic matters
- conditions are present to encourage bacteria to multiply
- it is possible for water droplets to be produced and, if so, whether they could be dispersed over a wide area, eg showers and aerosols from cooling towers
- it is likely that any of your employees, residents, visitors etc are more susceptible to infection due to age, illness, a weakened immune system etc and whether they could be exposed to any contaminated water droplets
Your risk assessment should include:
- management responsibilities, including the name of competent person and a description of your system;
- potential sources of risk;
- any controls in place to control risks;
- monitoring, inspection and maintenance procedures;
- records of the monitoring results, inspections and checks carried out;
- arrangements to review the risk assessment regularly
If you decide that the risks are insignificant, your assessment is complete. You may not need take any further action at this stage but you should review the assessment regularly in case anything changes in your system.
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