Water Safety Plan Is Needed In Your Company to Combat Legionella

The Health and Safety Executives (HSE) ACoP L8 – Approved Code of Practice and Guidance document "Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella in water systems" stipulates that employers, landlords and those in control of premises should take the necessary steps to make sure that their buildings’ water systems don’t become breeding grounds for legionella bacteria.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and occupational health and safety experts recommend developing a proper water safety plan to evaluate risks of exposure via a comprehensive legionella risk assessment. A good water safety plan should assess hazards in your water systems and rank them in order of priority. It also calls for ongoing monitoring of various control measures, such as water treatment or use of biocides, the operation of water services at temperatures that prevent legionella (temperature control) and the prevention of stagnant water.

Legionella Risk Assessment Surrey Services Help You Develop an Appropriate Water Safety Plan

Legionella risk assessment should be undertaken on all water systems (both hot and cold) and cooling water systems in any business or workplace and must be reviewed at least every two years, or under some other circumstances such as when there is a reasonably foreseeable risk. processes look to assess a system in its entirety and identify all risks that are present within a building’s water system. From the legionella risk assessment Surrey procedures, an appropriate water safety plan can be developed to make sure that all the risks identified are managed safely and efficiently.

Elements of a Legionella Risk Assessment

A process will include the following: inspection of water tanks to check if water temperatures are between 20 and 45 degree Celsius, the water temperatures in which legionella grows best; inspection of header tanks to ensure that they are clean and covered; checking if there is production and dispersion of aerosols (tiny water droplets); inspection of shower heads and other fixtures to ensure that they are clean and in excellent condition; determining if it is likely that those particularly susceptible to Legionnaires’ disease will come into contact with contaminated aerosols; and inspection of the entire water distribution system to make sure that it’s compliant with all relevant guidelines and regulations.

Legionella Treatment – Water Treatment for Managing Legionella Risk

If the legionella risk assessment indicates that there’s a probable basis for suspecting that the water distribution systems are contaminated with legionella, then procedures for managing legionella risk should be instituted immediately.

While the single occurrence of legionella bacteria in a building’s water supply system doesn’t mean that the Legionnaires’ disease will necessarily manifest itself, there is still a huge risk of human infection if the contaminated water becomes aerosol. procedures will minimise the chances of legionella colonising the water storage tanks, reservoirs and other aquatic systems serving water systems, such as showers, taps, spas or artificial fountains that produce jets, sprays and mists.

Legionella treatment Surrey procedures include the chlorination and disinfection of the affected systems in order to eradicate the biofilm that harbours legionella and other microorganisms. Some of the systems in which the treatment may be carried out include: hot and cold water systems, chiller systems and heating systems.

Once the process is completed a sample can be taken and laboratory tested to determine the effectiveness of the process. Continuous surveillance will also be required in order to prevent the risk of recontamination from legionella.

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