Legionella Awareness

About this course.

This course raises awareness of Legionella bacteria and the steps needed to control the risk of Legionnaires' disease. Legionnaires' disease is a serious, sometimes fatal form of pneumonia caught by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water. The risk is found in many ordinary water systems — from the showers in a small office to the cooling towers on a factory roof — and it is almost always preventable with proper management. Around 350 to 500 cases are reported in England and Wales in a typical year, and a significant proportion of confirmed cases are associated with travel, workplaces and other managed buildings rather than the home.

The course explains what Legionella is, the law and the responsibilities it places on employers and those in control of premises, where Legionella is found and the conditions it needs to grow, its effects on health and who is most vulnerable, how the risk is assessed (including the written scheme of control), and the key control measures — temperature management, the prevention of stagnation, cleaning and disinfection, and routine monitoring. It is written for the UK and reflects the Health and Safety Executive's Approved Code of Practice L8 and the technical guidance in HSG274. By the end of the course you should understand not only what the controls are but why they matter, so that you can play your part in keeping water systems safe. Whether you are a duty holder with overall legal responsibility, an appointed responsible person managing the scheme day to day, or a member of staff who carries out temperature checks or flushing, this course gives you the knowledge to act competently and to recognise when expert help is needed.