Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Building owners and facilities managers urged to comply with Legionella legislation or face prosecution
Landlords, property owners and facilities managers now face hefty fines if they fail to comply with the Legionella legislation, recently updated by the Health & Safety Executive.
The revised legislation deals with the control of risks associated with Legionella, a water-borne bacteria, which can have serious and often fatal consequences if it develops into Legionnaire's disease.
With the help of specially designed tools from Legionella Control International, those responsible for the building can now take appropriate steps to mitigate the risks and ensure the safety of the building's occupants.
The legionella experts offer a series of free guides and checklists to assist those responsible for the building in controlling these risks. Their 'Legionella Compliance Self-Audit Checklist' is one such tool which is freely available to utilise on request.
Legionella is typically found within aquatic environments and is especially dangerous where specific conditions enable the micro-organisms to propagate speedily. Legionnaires' disease itself is rare but 359 reported cases were diagnosed during 2010 in England and Wales alone. Those responsible for buildings are encouraged to implement risk assessments and water management systems to ensure that impending risks are minimised or eliminated altogether.
"Although outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease are rare, the ramifications are real and can be devastating to those involved," warns Rob Boob, Legionella Risk Management Specialist and Head of Legionella Control International's London team. "It is essential that those responsible, satisfy their legal obligations to ensure that Legionella is not ignored and left unmanaged within their properties. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to implement appropriate risk management strategies to ensure that the bacteria does not get a hold. UK businesses require complete compliance in this area which is why those that fail to comply with the law can face hefty fines."
The HSE issued a revised addition of the Approved Code of Practice entitled, 'Legionnaire's Disease: The Control of legionella bacteria in water systems', to ensure that property owners manage any risks appropriately. The scheme must be enforced by all within the property sphere regardless of the size and complexity of their water systems.
Legionella Control International ensures world class solutions are implemented to minimise, control and prevent the risk of legionella outbreaks in commercial and private properties. Providing independent, impartial advice, the company offers landlords and property owners an extensive range of legionella risk management services including risk assessments, compliance audits, training, assessment of water systems, crisis management, and laboratory testing as well as an array of other essential options all designed to safeguard against legionella.
Image: courtesy of Wikipedia
www.legionellacontrol.com
11th September 2014