Legionella Testing And Monitoring

In most homes, offices, and other places of business, Legionella testing and monitoring are used to gauge if there is Legionella in the engineered water systems. Legionella testing and monitoring fall under risk management and assessment practices that the law expects business owners to carry out. Failure to do so attracts legal consequences.

Legionella is a bacteria or an organism that can lead to disease outbreaks in humans and animals if left unchecked. Legionella is likely found in complex water systems ( like office water tanks) that have become contaminated. Legionella can also be transmitted through the air due to inhaling droplets of infected moisture in the air. Regular and routine testing and monitoring is the only way to prevent water contamination.

Therefore, regularly engaging a good legionella testing company is a good practice in ensuring water systems are void of contamination. This ensures the safety of tenants, workers, clients, and everyone.

Why Is Legionella Testing And Monitoring Important In The UK?

Scheduling routine testing and monitoring checks for Legionella is of utmost importance in any workspace or business place to guarantee the safety of human life.

That is why laws have been established to ensure that business owners take appropriate measures to create a safe environment for their employees. Some reasons why it is a crucial practice include:

Legal Obligation

Legally, business owners must ensure risk management and assessment practices are carried out in their business or workspaces. These checks are meant to ensure that engineered water systems are devoid of pathogens that could put employees’ lives at risk. The L8-approved code of practice was enacted to ensure business owners and landlords take Legionella risk prevention seriously.

For business owners who need to know their legal obligations to ensure the safety of workers, a quick read of the Government issued HSE guidelines will provide the necessary information. All legal information and penalties for not upholding the laws are contained in the document. They can be accessed free of any charge.

To Safeguard The Health Of Employees

The presence of Legionella in the body system leads to all manner of health issues and complications. In some cases, Legionella-related diseases refuse to respond to treatment, and the bacteria remain in the system for a prolonged period before it is completely eradicated.

Ensuring that you do not expose your employees to the unnecessary risks of contacting the bacteria through negligence is recommended. Contact a trusted and professional testing company to ensure there are no Legionella bacteria in your water system, given that conditions in the UK may increase the risk of contamination.

Shows GoodWill

Carrying out regular Legionella tests and monitoring procedures assures your employees, regulatory bodies, and partners that the safety of employees is essential to the business.

What is Legionella Testing And Monitoring?

Legionella testing involves collecting water samples and running some analysis in a laboratory. This process is carried out to ascertain whether certain bacteria, in this case, Legionella, are present or not in the water sample. In situations where it is present, the process helps identify the total bacterial count and species present in each sample.

Legionella testing and monitoring methods will be dependent on the kind of water system being assessed. Samples are supposed to be collected from areas with the highest risk potential, and carrying this out requires professional knowledge.

Sample collection and testing must be done following UKAS-approved legionella testing methods. Any Legionella testing company contracted to conduct risk assessment must be approved by the appropriate regulatory bodies.

There are guidelines established for testing water system samples for Legionella. All testing and sampling methods must follow British Standards stipulated use cases. The specified Standards are contained in BS7592 and BS6068, and our Company adheres to the guidelines.

How Is Legionella Testing And Monitoring Carried Out In The Uk?

Legionella testing and monitoring in business places require expert knowledge because sample collection for testing cannot be done haphazardly. Here are some steps followed during a Legionella testing and monitoring process.

Locate High-Risk Systems

Testers will conduct an assessment of the premises to help determine the water systems that are at high risk for sample collection. Systems most likely to offer a conducive environment for Legionella breeding will top the list of high-risk areas.

Sample Collection

Once all potential high-risk water systems have been identified, samples will be collected and taken to laboratories for analysis. Results usually take over a week to come back. The results will now determine what actions follow, and testing often needs to be done afterward.

Subsequent Measures

After testing results return, if there is an indication of the presence of Legionella, immediate control measures will be put in place to remedy the situation. After that, other tests will be carried out to monitor the progress or response to treatments.

How Often Is A Legionella Risk Assessment Required?

There are guidelines on how often legionella risk assessment ought to be carried out. However, the recommended assessment intervals will vary based on the nature of the system being assessed. Another determinant would be the nature of the results acquired after testing. Positive results will require more testing to ensure measures being implemented to destroy microbial life are effective.

Closed water systems

Regular Legionella testing is not required for systems not necessarily exposed to external elements. However, other regular water sample tests can be done as often as you desire on your business premises. The exception is when results indicate the need for a Legionella test, which would be recommended by your testing company.

Open Water Systems

Open water systems require a more regular testing time interval. A minimum of 3 months intervals should be observed between each test, and monitoring should be carried out every week.

Final Words

Engineered water systems in the UK are prone to Legionella contamination, and the bacteria have been proven to be the cause of multiple health conditions. Business owners should adhere to legal guides and schedule regular Legionella risk assessments and management as a preventive measure.

Consider hiring the services of a water testing company to schedule regular legionella testing and monitoring visits for your business place or Company.