Here in the UK, it’s required by law that every business or person in control of premises must carry out a legionella risk assessment to learn whether Legionnaires’ disease is a significant threat to their occupants and users.

In some cases, their legal responsibilities end here. If there’s found to be no “reasonably foreseeable risk” of legionella growth on their premises – as well as sufficient controls in place to ensure a clean and safe water supply – the responsible person “may not need to take any further action” for as long as the risk assessment still applies, according to HSE guidance.

A lot of the time, however, the problem is more complex, and the business or person is also required to draw up an array of precautionary measures and follow-up actions to keep the legionella risk under control. Read on to learn about some of the industries where this is commonly the case.

Healthcare

In a healthcare setting such as a hospital or dental practice, keeping patients safe from the spread of infections and diseases is all-important. And, as large consumers of water, these organisations have to go to great lengths to control the risk of legionella on their premises.

Like other forms of pneumonia, Legionnaires’ disease is more prevalent and deadly among people with pre-existing medical conditions and weakened immune systems, as well as the elderly and young children.

Care homes

For much the same reasons, legionella presents a high risk in care homes that provide accommodation to the elderly and the chronically ill.

Scalding injuries are also a serious concern in the social care sector, which adds another layer of complexity to temperature control – a common technique for legionella management that involves storing and dispensing hot water at between 50° and 60° C. We recommend thorough and frequent TMV servicing to address this.

Hospitality

Showers, spa pools and hot tubs are high-risk locations for legionella growth, and all are widely found in hotels and other hospitality industry settings. Furthermore, buildings like hotels tend to have exceptionally complex water systems, and some outlets may be intermittently used – if not disused entirely – due to seasonal variations in demand. This increases the likelihood of dead legs where water is left to stand and stagnate.

Manufacturing and industry

Manufacturing companies have large and complex facilities and use significant amounts of water, contributing to a higher-than-average risk of legionella. Issues like the release of water spray from a cooling tower – which may be unwittingly inhaled by workers over a large area – should be tightly controlled.

Property

In the past, there’s been a lot of confusion over landlords’ legal responsibilities when it comes to legionella. To clarify, while a water sample test is not required by law, landlords – and housing associations and local authorities – are obliged to manage the risk of legionella on their properties. High-risk contexts include student accommodation that has stood empty for any length of time, as well as older buildings with poorly maintained and insulated water tanks.

Want to learn more about keeping your business safe from legionella? Download our free guide,The facilities manager's guide to legionella risk assessments, and learn how to plan for effective legionella control and prevention.