Legionella Risk Assessment

Any premises falling under the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, No. 85 of 1993 (and subsequently the South African Regulations for Hazardous Biological Agents), is required to have a Legionella Risk Assessment undertaken. This assessment, and the depth of information included in such documentation, varies greatly from site to site, and also according to the operational needs of each site.

There is currently no stipulation regarding who must perform the assessment, apart from that ‘it should be undertaken by a suitably competent person / persons,’.

The complex nature of Legionella proliferation (growth), dissemination (diffusion into the environment), and the method of human contraction makes the undertaking of a comprehensive Legionella Risk Assessment by untrained personnel a much more difficult task than it should actually be.

The Ecosafe Legionella Risk Assessment includes a holistic approach to all on site water systems (assessment from water source to possible points of contamination). All risks are assessed and evaluated according to a well established Risk Profiling Matrix. The assessment is entirely independent, however, includes insight into what should be expected from third parties, who may have vested interests in the outcomes of the assessment. In order to achieve this, comprehensive interaction between Ecosafe, site, and all relevant third parties is required in order to establish factual reporting.

Following the presentation of the Risk Assessment Report, a bespoke site Legionella Management Plan is provided, to allow site to manage all the risks identified within the report. The option is also available for Ecosafe to undertake the management on site, coordinating all third party contractors and specific site responsibilities, ensuring legal compliance and peace of mind.

The Legionella Risk Assessment Report
The basis of the site specific Legionella Risk Assessment includes the following:

• Executive Summary – Summary of Site Findings
• Matters of Evident Concern – All “out of spec” findings outlined per system (i.e. require urgent attention to reduce associated risks)
• Contact Information – Formal delegation of duties surrounding Legionella control
• Scope of Assessment – Systems included in survey & outline of susceptible population
• Survey Assessment Criteria – Overview of parameters against which each system was assessed
• Site Microbiological Profile – Results from bacteriological survey including Legionella and Potable results (if required)
• Evaluation / Recommendations – Outlined for each system
• Implementation Plans – Outlined for Management as well as each system
• Defect Action Log – Outlined for each system assessed and presented in a format which enables site to systematically address each and every identified defect
• General Information – Overview of general information pertaining to dynamics of Legionella