Water and Legionella Risk Management Plans

Modern life would be unthinkable without our swimming pools, air conditioning, air coolers, Jacuzzis and indoor water sports. Unfortunately, it is not just humans who love water; most animals (even the invisible kind), love water too. It should therefore be no surprise that the presence of water or even moisture attracts bacteria.

Water is cooling and nice but it can also carry and transmit diseases

Water in liquid or in droplet form is an ideal mode of transport for bacteria. Bacteria use water to grow and propagate onto new areas. These new areas could be new water bodies or it could be humans or animals.

Bacteria that thrive in water and moisture include Legionella. Legionella is a particularly nasty bacterium. It is nasty because it can exist in microscopic Water Quality Monitoring and can be directly inhaled by humans and animals. When inhaled, it results in lung inflammation medically known as Legionnaires' disease.

Legionnaires' disease is partly contagious i.e. while it cannot be transmitted from human to human by contact, it can be transmitted if a person sneezes or coughs. The Legionella bacterium enters our body via the nose or can also be breathed in via the mouth. The bacterium is especially deadly to people with reduced immune systems (seniors or people with AIDS and similar diseases).

While Legionella bacteria can be found in almost all natural water bodies (lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, wells), they are particularly active and thrive in indoor water bodies and especially love air conditioning units and cooling towers. This is because:

1. The water or moisture temperature in the cooling towers and air conditioning units tends to be a balmy 20-45°C – ideal temperature to promote growth of bacteria.
2. The bacteria thrive on rust, scale and biofilm.
3. These units not only present the bacteria with an ideal environment in which to grow, they also create air borne microscopic water droplets thus presenting the bacteria with an ideal means to travel.

Tackling Water and Legionella Risk

The only way to tackle Environmental Risk assessment and Legionella risk is by monitoring and having in place effective service agreements that ensure cooling towers, air conditioning units, Jacuzzis and other indoor water sports areas and equipment are constantly cleaned and disinfected. This is no ordinary job and requires the services of professionals who know the risks involved and who are aware of where and how bacteria thrive.

One such company is JMB Asbestos air monitoring (jmbec.com.au). These are licensed, certified team of professionals who will visit your premise, assess the risk involved and present you with an economically viable Water and Legionella Risk Management Plan.

Having professionals handle your Water and Asbestos Management ensures that you not only comply with the law, but also ensure that you and the inhabitants of the building are safe from risk of infection by the Legionella bacterium.

A multidisciplinary indoor environmental consultancy, providing reliable and cost effective risk management services that are driven by customer focus. Our comprehensive services are tailored to the clients needs, and no project is too large or too s