Combating Legionella Checklist

The HSE Approved Code of Practice " The Control of Legionella Bacteria in Water Systems" known as L8 was released and came into force on the 8th January 2001. This new document amalgamates the two previous documents and has allowed existing information to be consolidated and new information to be added. A need to revise the previous documents arose because industry standards and working practices seeking to control legionella have continued to evolve; our understanding of the disease process and the microbiology of the primary causative organism, Legionella pneumophila, has also further advanced

Consequently, many of the revisions are intended to amplify detail rather than change concepts. Crucial amongst these concepts is that it is not the absence (or presence) of legionella in a single sample that is significant but the existence of the circumstances that could lead to rapid proliferation of the organism to hazardous levels

A preventative strategy must therefore be in place.

1/Risk Assessment

Have you identified and assessed sources of risk of Legionella within the water systems at your premises ?

2/Responsible Person

Have you appointed a person to be managerially responsible to oversee the Legionella control regime ?

3/Monitoring/Control Tasks

Services		Task		Frequency
Little used outlets		Outlets that are infrequently used need to be flushed.		Weekly
Hot & Cold Water Services		Monitor sentinel water temperature at sentinel hot & cold water outlets – (nearest & furthest from cold water storage tanks & hot water cylinders		Monthly
Hot & Cold Water Services		Monitor all other hot & cold water outlets		Annually
Shower Heads/Taps		Inspect the condition of shower heads/taps and descale as necessary		Quarterly
Cold Water Storage Tanks		Inspect the internal condition of the tank, the water surface should have a ‘shiny’ appearance which will indicate a good turnover of water. The internal condition of the tank/s should be free from scale, algae and sediment, if any of these conditions are present cleaning and disinfection should be undertaken.		Six Monthly
Cold Water Storage Tanks		Monitor the water temperature of the tank		Six Monthly
Calorifiers		Hot water cylinders should be blown down and if possible inspected internally for scale.		Annually
Review		Review all monitoring & control works that have been undertaken to see if regime is effective .		Annually
Audit		Audit logbook paperwork.		Annually

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