by Brianna Crandall — October 1, 2012—In its latest attempt to help prevent Legionnaires’ disease, the U.K.’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a safety notice on September 19 targeting companies and organizations that use hot and cold water systems for bathing and washing or in manufacturing processes. Although intended for the U.K., companies on this side of the ocean can benefit from following the warning as well in an attempt to avoid the 8-18,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease reported in the United States every year (according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Since infection usually occurs in vulnerable persons after inhaling airborne water particles from a water source infected with Legionella bacteria, facilities such as leisure centers, hotels, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities that utilize such devices as hot tubs, spa pools, showers, ornamental fountains, ice-making machines and humidifiers are among the businesses being urged to do more to protect workers and members of the public from Legionnaire’s disease risks.
The safety notice follows the publication of a separate safety notice in July aimed at companies with cooling towers and evaporative condensers. These were identified as the most common source of significant outbreaks based on an HSE review of data going back 10 years. HSE notes that while the numbers of people potentially affected by poorly maintained water systems and spa pools are likely to be smaller than poorly maintained cooling towers, there can still be fatal consequences.
This latest notice stresses the need for companies and organizations to take responsibility and do all they can to protect workers and the public, and that measures need to be in place to control identified Legionnaires’ disease risks and to be reviewed regularly, as previous requirements already make clear.
Following the HSE review of outbreaks commissioned in 2011, HSE and local U.K. authorities are developing a range of initiatives to promote better control of Legionnaires’ disease risks. These will include ongoing work with industry to bring about sustained improvement in standards, advice and information events. It will also include some compliance checks as a follow up to the safety notices where the impact of poorly managed legionella risks could be greatest.
HSE’s guidance on managing Legionnaires’ disease risk for employers, landlords and others in charge of facilities is available to download free from the HSE site.
