Testing and certification firm ALS Global is offering to help firms comply with regulations relating to the safeguarding of premises against Legionella.
Legionella are commonly occurring bacteria found in both natural and artificial water systems. Legionella pneumophila has been implicated in Legionnaires’ disease which is a serious and potentially fatal form of pneumonia, caused by inhaling water droplets containing Legionella bacteria.
Employers and premises owners have a responsibility to consider the risks of Legionella to the public and take appropriate action. This includes risk assessment and monitoring of water systems for the presence of Legionella bacteria. The HSE Approved Code of Practice L8 and accompanying guidance documents HSG 274, outline requirements for treatment, sampling and analysis for water systems, in addition to alert and action limits plus required actions for Legionella control. The British Standard for legionella risk assessment, BS 8580-1:2019, has also been recently updated.
ALS can help firms achieve compliance using culture-based methods paired with innovative, rapid confirmation techniques which are UKAS accredited. Utilising the latest technology to provide instant, confirmed Legionella results, this removes the need for the industry-norm two-day confirmation process for presumptive positive samples. The reduction in confirmation times removes the uncertainty of acting on presumptive data or the risk of not acting, by providing a confirmed, accredited result.
This methodology is in accordance with the following standards: ACoP L8 / HSG 274; BS6068-2.1.2:1998, ISO 11731:1998 / ISO 11731:2017; and ISO 17025:2005. ALS also offers rapid Legionella testing by PCR which can give next-day results.
As the firm says: “Take advantage of ALS’s extensive courier and drop-off network for the rapid transportation of samples to maximise your sampling and analytical regimes.” ALS also provides free access to online data using its “MyALS” online portal.
