What is Legionnaires’ disease?
Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caught by breathing in small droplets of water containing legionella bacteria. It does not pass from person to person. The risk sits with water systems that create a spray or a mist, such as showers, cooling towers, spa pools and some taps.
Older people, smokers and anyone with a weakened immune system are more likely to become seriously ill, which is why care homes and hotels take the controls seriously.
Is legionella awareness training a legal requirement?
Employers and anyone in control of premises have a duty to identify and control the risk from legionella under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the COSHH Regulations 2002. The HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L8 requires the people carrying out control measures to be suitably informed, instructed and trained, with their suitability assessed.
Legionella is a biological agent under COSHH, so the duty sits alongside the chemical risks covered in COSHH training.
Which water systems are highest risk?
Systems that hold water between 20°C and 45°C, produce breathable droplets, or contain sections that sit unused. Cooling towers, evaporative condensers, spa pools, showers in low occupancy rooms and dead legs in pipework are the findings that turn up most often on a risk assessment.
Stored rainwater, misting units on a produce display, and vehicle wash systems catch people out because nobody thinks of them as water systems.
What temperatures control legionella?
Hot water stored at 60°C and reaching outlets at 50°C or above, cold water kept below 20°C, and any outlet not used in a week flushed through. Legionella multiplies in the 20°C to 45°C range, so holding water outside that band is the main defence in most buildings.
What records do you need to keep?
A risk assessment (which must be written down where a business has five or more employees), a named responsible person, a written scheme of control where the assessment identifies risks that need managing, and dated logs of temperature checks, flushing, cleaning and any remedial work. Records are the first thing an HSE inspector or an insurer asks for once a case is reported, and they are also what shows the scheme is being followed rather than filed.
Who should take legionella awareness training?
Facilities and maintenance staff, caretakers, landlords, plumbers, health and safety officers, and the managers who sign off water hygiene contracts. Hotels, care homes, gyms, schools and pubs all run systems inside the risk range, often with rooms that stand empty for weeks at a time.
The course takes two to three hours, is self-paced, and ends with a CPD accredited certificate.
