Legionella Risk Assessment

Mike Rose

Legionella Risk Assessment

Identification and evaluation of sources of potential risk

Means by which exposure is to be prevented

Means by which exposure is to be controlled

Fundamental to the development of an effective management system

Must be suitable and sufficient

What constitutes suitable and sufficient?

Legionella Risk Assessment

Legionnaires’ disease The control of legionella bacteria in water

systems ACoP and Guidance (L8)

– Very limited in detail relating to risk assessment content – No clear level of expectation for clients– Variability in risk assessment quality– Increased risk of Legionnaires’ disease

Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease are often associated with

inadequate risk assessment

BS 8580:2010 Code of Practice

BS 8580:2010 Water quality - Risk Assessment for LegionellaControl, Code of Practice

Factors to be considered in the risk assessment– Contamination – Amplification– Transmission– Exposure– Host Susceptibility

Preparations for risk assessment– Competence of risk assessor– Agreeing terms of reference– Independence.

BS 8580:2010 Code of Practice

Desktop appraisal of documentation– Previous risk assessment– Current scheme of control– Maintenance and testing records– Action log– Management responsibilities

Site visit/survey– Review of schematics– Visual inspection– Measurements– Sampling?

BS 8580:2010 Code of Practice

Risk assessment reporting– Clear and concise– Formal document– Clear identification of hazard– Clear recommendations– Timescales

Risk review

Key Points from BS 8580:2010

A clearly defined process for risk assessment

Competency of the assessor

Independence

- Impartiality

- Integrity

BS 8580:2010

Provides clear levels of expectation for:

- Clients

- Providers

- Enforcement

Raise quality standards

Reduce incidences of Legionnaires’ disease

UKAS accreditation.

Management Scheme

An appropriate management scheme will include:

Responsibility list

Parameters of the system to be maintained ie. temperatures, flow rates, biocide levels etc…

Testing and inspection schedule

Testing and inspection procedures

Testing and inspection results

Details of actions to take with out of specification results

Training certification

Management System Auditing

Don’t assume that the system is being followed Bulmers Cider outbreak 2003 (26 cases and 2 deaths) Responsible person Independent third party

Areas of focus

Completion of monitoring/inspection tasks Out of specification results Supporting certification eg. Legionella tests Verification of results by inspection

Summary

Safe working environment

Ensure water is fit for purpose

Minimise downtime

Avoid prosecution

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