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Legionella Audit
BY John Herbert | Director
Building systems harbour a particularly dangerous,
and potentially
fatal bacteria named Legionella Pneumophila, more
commonly known as Legionella. It is the causative agent for
Legionnaires' disease.
Legionnaires' Disease (退 伍軍人病) is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, with a fatality rate of up 20%. In susceptible persons, the fatality rate increases dramatically causing death in nearly 50% of cases.
The
bacterium responsible was initially identified in 1977,
by the CDC in Atlanta, following a large outbreak at a Bellevue
Stanford hotel, Philadelphia, USA in July 1976.
The disease was named because the group of
people primarily affected in
this outbreak were retired American service personnel who were
attending a legion convention.
Legionella is an aqueous organism, it lives in the nature, and given the opportunity it can infest and breed in your water systems, including cooling towers, air conditioners, humidifiers, hot water systems and the like. Given the right environmental conditions Legionella will rapidly multiply and reach a point where it could infect you, your staff or the general public.
Why Audit?
Before we delve into the Legionella audit in more detail, why should any business worry about Legionella?
There are several good reasons to conduct an Legionella Audit:
- Safety of your staff
- Safety of the public
- Demonstrate precautions were taken
- Avoid Litigation
- Compliance with Code of Practice
Additionally from the business perspective, past experience has shown, and the evidence is clear, many businesses cease trading shortly after an outbreak.
Whether you own a large factory, a hotel, or a small restaurant a Legionella outbreak could cripple your business, and it may never recover.
Let me quickly cite two examples, a cooling tower caused an Legionella outbreak, fatalities occurred. A factory was identified as the source, legal action followed, within a month the factory was closed.
In another case a decorative water feature in a restaurant, more than twenty people became ill. The news of the outbreak spread across the globe. A few weeks later after the premises was declared safe the owner re-opened his restaurant, however it was too late, the damage had already been done, and the business closed.
Cooling Tower Audit
Kelcroft's experience and expert advice helps organisations avoid the trauma of a Legionella outbreak - the primary tool in your arsenal in the fight against Legionella is the Kelcroft Legionella Audit.
The Kelcroft Legionella audit is a methodical and system assessment of your systems in your building creating a risk model, and if deficiencies are identified providing recommendations for remedial works. The audit comprises three parts:
- Data Collection
- Fieldwork
- Report
Further Information
For further information regarding Legionella Kelcroft's services, call today, our Hong Kong office telephone: +(852) 2335 9830, send us a fax +(852) 2335 9862, or send us an email message