If you own business premises (or rented accommodation) which has a hot and cold water system, then you have a legal requirement to have a legionella risk assessment carried out to determine the risk and likelihood of your staff and building users being exposed to legionella and other harmful waterborne bacteria.
The Acop (approved code of practice) L8(4th edition) is the legislative document covering the control of legionella in the UK, and is health & safety law. This document is supported by the HSG274 guidance document.
Legionella is the bacteria which causes legionnaire’s disease and is found in natural environments such as lakes & rivers, but when it enters a man-made water system (such as a hot & cold water system) the conditions of this system can offer the opportunity for this bacteria to rapidly proliferate (grow). When this bacteria is turned into an aerosol (such as a shower) then susceptible people can be exposed to this which can cause potentially fatal illness. Risks and conditions which can cause people to exposed to legionella bacteria include
Once the scope of the assessment has been agreed, we will send a qualified and experienced legionella risk assessor to your business premises, to carry out a legionella risk assessment, and identify the risks and likelihood of exposure to legionella bacteria. The assessor will need to meet with the building manager or responsible person and will need to inspect any previous legionella risk assessment you may have, and any legionella monitoring log book, to confirm control measures currently used to control the risk. They will also need to check competency of staff which will involve inspecting training records they have. Our assessor will also need to find out about the types of people using the building such as general ages of staff, and building users in order to identify if susceptible people are present, and also to provide a risk rating for the report, which will confirm the risk of exposure.
Once this is complete, then the assessor will need to inspect all of the water system(s) in full. This will involve inspection and testing of mains cold water supplies, cold water tanks, water heaters, water features, heating systems and all pipework feeding your taps, baths, sinks, showers and outlets. Temperatures will need to be tested from as many outlets as possible, photographs taken of general observations, and anything considered to be a risk. We commonly identify risks such as dirt and debris In the system (sediment in cold water tanks, scaled taps/showers) infrequently used outlets, temperatures out of range (temperatures between 20-45c favour growth of legionella bacteria) and anything which can contribute to the growth of legionella bacteria, including how water droplets can form aerosol.
Our assessor will need access to as many areas of the building and system as possible, which will help with the schematic diagram we will produce for your system(s) as part of the report.
We can also undertake sampling at the time of this assessment, to identify what bacteria is in your water systems.
Once the onsite element of the system has been completed and the information gathered, our assessor will then return to the office where he/she will then begin compiling you a full report. Our reports are compliant with the requirements of the Acop L8, HSG274, COSHH & BS8580(2010). Once completed, we will then electronically send you the report and can also post out a hard copy of the assessment in a presentation folder.
We can then help you further with monitoring programmes, training, remedial works and cleaning & disinfection services. Acquiesce Environmental Compliance Ltd is a specialist legionella & water hygiene service company based in the Midlands with nationwide coverage.
Risk assessments for legionella need to be reviewed regularly (on average every 2 years), or if conditions change, such as:
Find out more about legionella Risk Assessment in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol.
Not in these areas? Acquiesce Compliance provides nationwide services so get in touch today!
For a quote for a legionella risk assessment, please fill in the below form:
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