If you have responsibility for buildings as part of your job, preventing Legionella should be somewhere on your list of priorities. For the tenants and visitors of the building, legionella poses a major health danger. For legionella prevention, routine checks are essential, but they consume a lot of engineering resources.
This blog examines the significance of legionella tests and the ways in which Internet of Things sensor technology streamlines data transfer.
Let’s start by providing a definition.
What Is Legionella?
Bacteria of the type Legionella are normally in freshwater naturally. When it grows in numbers within the water systems that supply homes and places of business, it becomes an issue. Among the typical sources are sinks, toilets, sprinklers, showers, drinking fountains, hot tubs, and air conditioning units.
One of two types of legionellosis can be spread by inhaling legionella at high enough concentrations. Pontiac fever typically presents as a mild respiratory illness, whereas Legionnaires’ disease is far more frequently recorded. This is found especially in elderly and immune-compromised individuals.
In the US, 60% of all water-borne illnesses are caused by legionella. In 2018, a record 10,000 cases were reported. However given the number of untreated patients, the actual number of cases is likely at least twice as high.
The characteristic flu-like symptoms of legionnaires’ disease are followed by pneumonia. It has a one in ten chance of being fatal.
Anybody whose responsibility it is to ensure the building and its occupants are safe must prioritise the prevention of legionella.
Why Legionella Prevention Is So Crucial
The conditions that encourage legionella make it a particular worry in ancient or partially occupied buildings. This is one of the factors that led to a revived interest in legionella after the lockdowns that during the epidemic left buildings idle for extended periods of time.
Legionella is a major concern for healthcare facilities, including as hospitals and care homes, as well as hotels, colleges, public buildings, and entertainment venues because to its heightened risk to the elderly and immunocompromised individuals.
It is not only necessary to protect users or tenants of a building from legionella, but it is also financially and legally required.
The cost of missed productivity and medical care were combined in a US research by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This resulted in an estimated $835 billion economic burden per year.
There is a legal requirement as well. In the UK, a care facility was fined £1.5 million when one of its residents passed away from Legionnaires’ illness. All UK employers and anyone in charge of facilities are required by law to take precautions against and manage the hazards posed by legionella bacteria. Legal obligations include locating and evaluating potential sources of risk, developing a plan to reduce or eliminate risk, putting safety measures into place, maintaining them, and keeping track of their effectiveness.
How To Fortify Prevention
A legionella risk assessment ought to be a component of each building’s health and safety strategy. It must include the building’s water systems as well as any auxiliary equipment like pumps, heat exchangers, and heaters (calorifiers).
Important inquiries to address:
- Is water circulated or stored in the system?
- Is the water between 20 and 45 °C in all or certain areas of the system?
- Are there any bacterial growth-supporting deposits (such as rust, sludge, scale, organic waste, and biofilms) there, including legionella?
- Is it feasible to create water droplets? If so, just how far can they spread?
- Exists a chance that clients, workers, or guests could inhale polluted water droplets?
Beyond risk assessment, continual vigilance is necessary for legionella prevention to reduce possible danger.
The following are three of the most significant duties:
- avoiding water temperatures that encourage the growth of bacteria like legionella.
- making sure that water does not pool anywhere in the pipe network.
- keeping precise records of inspections and checks.
What Are The Legionella Prevention Checks Missing?
A routine inspection schedule encompassing predetermined points along the pipe system is necessary for legionella prevention. Engineers typically travel between locations to do routine inspections, flush taps, and record their findings, which is a labor-intensive job. Manual inspections consume a significant amount of staff time, are prone to error, and leave information gaps where bacteria could be growing undetected. In water between 20 and 45C, Legionella can incubate for just 10 days. Potential problems might not be identifiable since many organisations simply check a small portion of the pipe system once a month.
A More Intelligent Approach To Legionella Prevention
A better technique to control legionella prevention is now available because to the development of smart building technologies. Water pipes have IoT-capable sensors that continuously monitor the flow and temperature of the water. The information is fed into a dashboard for trend analysis and notifications when important parameters are violated, allowing engineers to visit the sites as needed.
Correct monthly reports serve as a foundation for the more effective deployment of engineers and serve as evidence of regulatory compliance.
For building managers who need to lower their legionella risk while also increasing the productive use of their workforce, it represents a major advancement.
