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Legionella risk assessments are a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.  The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 make specific requirements for Legionella risk assessments to undertaken. 

 

These regulations apply to the control of Legionella and are embodied in the Approved Code of Practice and guidance document, “Legionnaires’ disease: The control of Legionella bacteria in water systems”, otherwise known as ACoP L8, and the associated Technical Guidance HSG274 Parts 1 to 3 and HSG282, The control of legionella and other infectious agents in spa-pool systems.

 

A risk assessment is an ongoing process, the Legionella risk assessment is a live document, not a one-off exercise. The risk assessment report needs to be reviewed regularly, ideally in anticipation of, rather than in response to, changes. For example, the risk assessment for a new construction ought to be performed before commissioning, but then reviewed when the system has been operating normally for several weeks or months. It is recommended that a risk assessor is involved from the design stage onwards.

 

It is the responsibility of the duty holder to ensure that an assessment is carried out to identify and assess the risk of exposure to Legionella from work activities, water systems and to put in place any necessary precautions. The duty holder appoints a person to take day-to-day responsibility for controlling any identified risk from Legionella bacteria. The appointed competent person(s) (also known as responsible person) needs to have:

 

a) Sufficient standing and authority within the organization (e.g. a manager or director) and competence and knowledge of the system to ensure that all operational procedures are carried out in a timely and effective manner; and

 

b) A clear understanding of their duties and the overall health and safety management structure and policy in the organization.

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Responsibility Structure & Definitions

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1. Duty Holder(s)
Individual(s) with the legal responsibility to ensure that health and safety is managed effectively.

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The duty holder is the employer, where the risk to control hazardous substances to their staff or others, or as a self-employed person where the risk is to themselves or others, or as a person in control of the premises.

 

2. Competent person(s)

An individual who is appointed with, and who has accepted, responsibility under the authority of the duty holder for ensuring that the organization’s responsibilities for the control of Legionella are met and that all individuals and organizations assigned to carry out tasks in the scheme of Legionella control are competent to do so.

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3. Deputy competent person(s)

An individual(s) who is also appointed with, and who has accepted, responsibility under the authority of the duty holder for ensuring that the organization’s responsibilities for the control of Legionella are met during the absence of the competent person.

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