FSM
Feature Managing the Legionella risk in your water system
Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks appear to be on the rise and the risk of contamination can easily go unnoticed. Clearwater Technology’s Jamie Tranter explains the three key steps to keeping your water system Legionella-free
Whether you like it or not, the risk of Legionella contamination lingers in your water system. A recent spate of outbreaks poses the question, is enough being done to manage the risk? While the recent cases have emerged from businesses in the hospitality and healthcare sectors, the risk is evident in every sector and it’s the responsibility of every business or stadia to ensure that the water systems on their premises are properly managed. Legionnaires’ disease can be devastating
as the disease is a form of pneumonia and poses a potentially fatal risk to those who contract it. And contracting it isn’t exactly difficult. Your water supply can easily become contaminated through lapses in care and maintenance and all it takes is the inhalation of one airborne water droplet to contract the disease. Safeguarding your water supply against
the growth of Legionella bacteria and its devastating impact can be achieved by following three important steps:
1. Get to Know Your Codes of Practice There are defined codes of practice to help understand how to measure and control the Legionella risk. The HSE has issued Approved Codes of Practice (ACoP) L8 which outlines the recommended requirements for the control of Legionella bacteria in water systems and HSG 274 which outlines what businesses must do to comply with L8. For buildings and facilities used in
healthcare, the codes of practice are noticeable tougher and this for good reason. Hospital patients including elderly, new-born and immunosuppressed patients are among the most susceptible to Legionella infection and must therefore be given greater protection. Healthcare organisations are therefore required to adhere to the Health Trust Memorandum (HTM 04-01) guidance on the management of water supply systems. While these codes of practice clearly
outline what is required in terms of Legionella assessment and treatment, building, facility or stadium managers that require additional guidance or simply lack the time and resource to implement the recommended
32 FSM Major assets must
also be inspected. From cold storage tanks to calorifiers (hot water heaters) and cooling towers, major assets must be inspected for scale, corrosion and sediment which are all warning signs that Legionella
bacteria
may be present in the system. Remedial action to remove risk could include the cleaning and disinfection of these major assets. A Legionella risk assessment must also
measures should seek out a risk assessment consultant that has the relevant expertise to ensure they are taking the right preventative measures and operating to full compliance.
2. Establish a Risk Assessment Programme
The first step in controlling the risk is assessing your water system. HSG 274 identifies three areas that should be subjected to risk assessment and these are; cooling towers, hot and cold water systems and any other system that poses a risk – namely any additional part of the system that produces airborne water droplets. A comprehensive assessment should
include the inspection of obsolete pipework (known as ‘dead legs’, ‘dead-ends’) such as piping to unused taps where water can stag- nate and encourage the growth of Legionella bacteria. Remedial action should then take place to remove any dead legs from the water system, eliminating the opportunity for water to stagnate and create a risk. Hemp joints are another common area
where Legionella bacteria can breed. Hemp joints are notorious for capturing and storing bacteria and as a remedial action, these should be replaced with a safer alternative to hemp that does not encourage the growth of bacteria. Flexible hoses are commonly lined with
a material called EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer). This material can encourage the growth of Legionella bacteria. While hoses constructed with EPDM are banned in healthcare environments, they can often be found in water systems in other sectors. As remedial action, these can be replaced by non-EPDM hoses or solid copper fittings.
include a schematic drawing of the stadiums water systems and temperature profile of both the assets and outlets
3. Invest in Experience & Proficiency
Legionella risk assessments must be carried out by a competent individual who is confident that they have a full understanding of the relevant codes of practice. While your stadium or facility management might make every effort to ensure full safety and compliance, assigning the responsibility to an under-qualified individual can result in non-compliance and an un-safe water system. In many cases, stadium and facility
managers will outsource the responsibility of risk assessment and remedial action to an experienced water treatment provider. When searching for an experienced provider it’s important to ensure you’re being offered more than a one-size-fits-all solution and that the provider can instead tailor a bespoke risk assessment and risk management solution to your specific business and its individual requirements. Having a risk assessment which is NOT suitable and sufficient means that you are not compliant with the legislation and you are possibly exposing users or visitors to your stadium to Legionella bacteria. Each stadium or facility will have its own
site-specific risks and it’s essential that your water treatment provider recognises these risks and builds a programme around them. By utilising the expertise of qualified and experienced risk assessment experts, stadia across the UK can take control over the growing risk of Legionella in their water systems.
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