If there are five or more employees using a building, it is the duty holder’s responsibility to ensure that a legionella risk assessment is carried out. According to the HSE, you may seek advice from a competent specialist provider to support you in producing this document. Opal Water Treatment can help assist with this task.

Writing a Legionella Risk Assessment

A legionella risk assessment is a legal document that complies with guidance which helps identify potential risk sources.  It should contain specific details on all parts of the hot and cold water system including all associated plant and equipment with recommendations on how to control or eliminate the risk that has been identified.

A few other specific areas that a legionella risk assessment must contain are:

  • Responsible persons 
  • Training records
  • Record keeping 
  • Any specific areas where there is likely to be an aerosol and any other area where bacterial growth will likely occur
  • Current state of operation
  • Monitoring of the system

Opal will provide a full report containing the above including a risk summary with priority ratings and recommendations to reduce and control the risk.

Reviewing your Legionella Risk Assessment

Your legionella risk assessment needs to be reviewed regularly as guidance suggests and if circumstances change. A few reasons why you will need to review your risk assessment are:

  • Legionella outbreak
  • A change to your system or design
  • A change of responsible person or contractor
  • Scale of risk increases

For showers, every two years is a good review period. With cooling towers, annually is more appropriate as the risk is higher.

Other Legionella Options

Opal’s specialist team offers other legionella services to keep your site and supply safe: