Is the landlord or the tenant responsible for managing legionella?

This will ultimately be determined by the lease agreement but generally speaking tenants who have sole occupancy of a building where they are also responsible for maintenance and repairs will be the person or persons on whom the statutory duty falls.

Where there are multiple occupants or where the landlord services and maintains the building, then the duty would usually fall to the landlord unless other arrangements have been documented and communicated.

What are the regulations that govern Legionella control?

The two main pieces of legislation are the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (1994). Companies that fail to comply with government guidance may be prosecuted under either of these regulations.

Who is most at risk at work?

It is impossible to tell who is most at risk just by looking at people as many conditions that could increase the risk are not visible. Generally speaking though, those who smoke, drink excessively, are overweight, and anyone with an underlying illness that affects their immune system may be more at risk. The elderly are the most vulnerable members of the population.

Should I be taking Legionella or other samples from the workplace on a routine basis?

This depends on the water system and it is always advisable to check with a reputable service provider, however the HSC APPROVED CODE OF PRACTICE FOR LEGIONELLA (L8) states that in most hot and cold water systems, the routine testing for legionella and other bacteria is not a requirement - the emphasis is on management and control rather than testing to see whether or not the bacteria are in the system.

For cooling towers and other plant and systems operating within the critical temperature ranges of 20 ° C and 50 ° C, it may be necessary to take and analyse samples for legionella on a quarterly basis or as otherwise instructed.

How do I find a reputable supplier?

You can contact the Code of Conduct Association (see Links) who manages the voluntary Code of Conduct for Service Providers. They hold a list of suppliers who have committed to providing their clients with minimum levels of service and who provide evidence of this on an annual basis.

What happens when an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease occurs?

An outbreak is defined as two or more confirmed cases of legionellosis occurring in the same locality within a six-month period.

It is the responsibility of the Proper Officer for the declaration of an outbreak. The Proper Officer is usually a Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (CCDC). In Scotland, it is the Consultant in Public Health Medicine (CPHM).

Local authorities will have established incident plans to investigate major outbreaks of infectious disease including legionellosis. These are activated by the Proper Officer who invokes an outbreak Committee, whose primary purpose is to protect public health and prevent further infection. This will normally be set up to manage the incident and will involve representatives of all the agencies involved

The local authority, CCDC or EHO acting on their behalf may make a site visit and request the shutting down of any processes which are capable of generating and disseminating airborne water droplets. They may take water samples and ensure emergency disinfection is undertaken.

How often should I be cleaning my cold water storage tanks?

The HSC approved code of practice for legionella (L8) does not set any time frame for the cleaning of water storage cisterns, however they should be inspected on a six monthly basis as part of the on-going monitoring programme and cleaned as silt or biofilm become evident.

Water systems should also be disinfected on installation and following any work where contamination may have been introduced such as leak repairs or other plumbing work.