Controlling Legionella in Hot & Cold Water Systems
This article is about the control of legionella in hot and cold water systems, an essential task if you are to protect the safety and health of people who may use such systems or come in to contact with them.
Most people have heard of Legionnaires’ disease, a serious form of pneumonia caused by the presence of Legionella bacteria in water. In order to reduce the risk of people being affected by this disease, water systems need to be kept in good condition to limit the number of bacteria present and prevent, or at least control the growth of any dangerous bacteria in the water.
Legionella bacteria can live in both hot and cold water systems, so it’s vitally important that these are managed properly and inspected regularly to minimise the risks to people.
Controlling legionella in hot and cold water systems
Here are some of the practical things you need to think about when it comes to controlling legionella in your hot and cold water systems:
In very simple terms you should ensure that you keep your cold water cold, your hot water hot… and keep it moving!
Controlling legionella and your legal responsibilities
Cases of legionella contamination and Legionnaires’ disease infection can mean a full investigation by the Health and Safety Executive is carried out. This can affect not only those businesses suspected of causing the infection but also others close by. If companies are found to have been lax in their legionella control processes and procedures they could face prosecution under health and safety law. It’s therefore essential that everyone with responsibility for water systems is fully aware of their responsibilities, they identify any risks by carrying out a legionella risk assessment, they implement suitable control measures to manage the risks and monitor their effectiveness to ensure people are protected.
Legionella control specialists
Water Treatment Services offer a comprehensive range of legionella control and environmental solutions for the control of Legionella bacteria including legionella risk assessment, training and water testing for the control of legionella, pseudomonas and other waterborne pathogens in the workplace.
With offices in London serving the South and South East England, Manchester (North West), Birmingham (Midlands), Bristol (South East England and Wales), Leeds (North and North East) and Glasgow (Scotland), supported by regional teams of specially trained engineers, in-field water treatment service specialists and technicians we can offer cost effective legionella risk management, ACOP L8 compliance and engineering support services throughout the UK and Ireland.
Further reading…
More information about what you must do as an employer to control the risks from legionella … here →