by Brianna Crandall — April 1, 2015—Legionella bacteria are ubiquitous in nature, but it is water systems within the modern built environment that provide ideal conditions for them to multiply to hazardous concentrations, according to U.K.-based nonprofit building research and consultancy organization BSRIA (owned by The Building Services Research and Information Association).
Minimization of the risk of Legionnaires’ disease continues to be a key public health concern of building and facilities managers in all buildings, but particularly those with cooling towers and those supporting vulnerable populations in hospitals and care homes, notes the organization.
BSRIA recently revised its publications concerning legionella control. The resulting Legionnaires’ Disease—Risk Assessment (BG57/2015) was written to provide a structured framework for a legionella risk assessment that may be carried out by a building manager, competent in-house staff or specialist consultants.
The new publication replaces BSRIA guide AG20/2000 and was updated to take account of later standards and guidance documents including the 2013 edition of the Approved Code of Practice and Guidance (ACOP L8) and associated guidance (HSG274 parts 1-3).
The new guide will assist the risk assessor to gauge the risk posed by legionella bacteria in a wide range of situations and where necessary make recommendations to reduce and control that risk. It contains editable pro-formas in the appendices that can be used as a template for the risk assessments.
The resulting risk assessment and evidence of the implementation of any recommendations allow the responsible person to show compliance with the relevant health and safety legislation, such as that from the U.K.’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), points out BSRIA.
The guide complements BSRIA’s Legionnaire’s Disease—Operation and Maintenance Log Book (BG58/2015) due for release April 2015. This guide will cover the recording of operation and maintenance data for risk systems and include a selection of editable forms for the common risk systems that can be used to create the log book.
These two guides can be ordered now as part of a set that replaces BSRIA’s previous Legionellosis Water Treatment set (LWT). The Legionnaires’ Disease set of 2 guides (LWT2) offers a savings of 30 percent for both guides purchased as a set. Legionnaires’ Disease—Risk Assessment (BG57/2015) can also be purchased individually from the BSRIA Bookshop.
