For health and safety reasons, buildings are required by law to do legionella risk assessments on a regular basis. If they are not done, the consequences can be severe. But do you know who can legally do a risk assessment for legionella?
What Is Legionella?
Legionella is a bacteria that lives in water and is found in nature. It grows in water systems that aren't well taken care of, and if it gets into your body, it could make you very unwell.
Legionella bacteria are usually found in bodies of water that have been sitting still for a while and are between 20 and 45oC. This can include things like a building's water tanks, boilers, and heating tanks. This can be very dangerous because breathing in aerosolised legionella can lead to legionnaires' disease.
This type of pneumonia infects the lungs and can cause trouble breathing, fever, headaches, chest pain, and in some cases, death. If you get it, it can be very serious, especially if you are older or have problems with your immune system or lungs.
What Is A Legionella Risk Assessment?
Because legionnaires' disease is a risk, the law says that every business in the UK, no matter how big or small, must do a legionella risk assessment. The goal is to find out if the water has legionella in it and keep employees, customers, and other people who use the building safe. This is also true for landlords, people who run buildings, and people who own businesses.
The risk assessment points out areas that could be dangerous and gives a plan for reducing the amount of bacteria where it's needed.
Is A Legionella Risk Assessment A Requirement?
A legionella risk assessment must be done by the building owner or manager, or by someone who is qualified to do it. This is the first step toward starting a programme to treat water and improve hygiene. By finding hazards and starting a monitoring programme, you can follow the Health and Safety Executives' ACoP L8 guidance and the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974, among other rules.
What Happens If I Don't Test For Legionella?
If you're in charge of a property, it's important to test for legionella regularly. By law, you have to do risk assessments and take precautions to protect the health and safety of the people who use the building.
If you don't do risk assessments, you could be held legally responsible for any damage, illness, or death that legionella in your water supply causes. You might have to pay a lot of money in fines or even go to jail. To put it simply, it's not worth the risk to ignore your duty to test.
What Does A Legionella Risk Assessment Involve?
When they get there, legionella risk assessors will check your building's water system without getting in the way. They will pay special attention to the building's most vulnerable assets. The risks are then found and rated using a set of criteria.
Depending on what is needed, a detailed report will be sent by email or on paper. In every report, suggestions will be made to improve the health of the water system.
Who Can Carry Out A Legionella Risk Assessment?
The assessment only needs to be done by a person who is qualified, according to UK law. To be competent, you need to know about health and safety rules and the right way to assess the risk of legionella.
This is a job that has a lot riding on it. If the work isn't done right, the people who use the building could get hurt or even die. Because of this, the assessor should always be skilled, knowledgeable, and have experience. Whoever is in charge must make sure that all operational steps are done quickly and well. Control measures and plans must be put into place.
Even though you don't have to hire a professional, you should be sure of the person you choose. For your health and safety, you should always think carefully.
Self-employed people and business partners who qualify can put themselves forward as the responsible assessor. They have to pay attention to the right information, instructions, and training. It is also important that they understand the organization's larger structure and policies for health and safety management.
How Assured Water Can Help
Assured Water Hygiene is a well-known water treatment and hygiene company that focuses on reducing the risk of legionnaires' disease by preventing it, finding it early, and getting rid of it. We do maintenance on water systems for many different clients in London and the Home Counties.
Assured Water gives these customers services like legionella risk assessments, cleaning and disinfecting water storage tanks, cleaning and inspecting calorifiers and hot water tanks, repairing cold water tanks, treating cooling towers, cleaning and disinfecting cooling towers, and testing and sampling for bacteria.
Contact us right away to learn how we can help you protect yourself from legionella.