Legionnaires' disease is an extreme form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. It can be caught by inhaling water droplets containing the bacteria. Legionella bacteria grow when water temperatures are between 20-45°C, where nutrients, such as rust, sludge, scale, sediment and algae are available, and also where water is stagnant in the water system (eg, if a shower or tap is not regularly used).
Every business needs to understand and carry out their legal duties regarding the control of legionella – the bacterium that causes Legionnaire’s disease, a lung infection that can be fatal.
Every business needs to know about Legionella as ignorance could lead to potential deaths, serious illness and/or significant fines.
Legionella is a type of bacteria. Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms that thrive in various environments, including in the soil, water, and even inside human beings.
WCS Group has become a member of the Commissioning Specialists Association (“Making Buildings Work”). The Association comprises recognised experts working in system commissioning, management and maintenance to ensure complex buildings run to a uniformly high standard.
Given the right combination of environmental conditions, any natural or man-made water system has the potential to become a breeding ground for Legionella growth.
The health risks associated with Legionella bacteria are significantly heightened in areas where water is stored or recirculated, where the water temperature is between 20 and 45C, where there is the possibility of breathable water droplets being spread in the form of aerosols, or where there is a ready source of nutrients (sludge, bio-films, organic matter etc) in which the bacteria can thrive.
WCS Group has been accepted onto the LPP DPS for Building, Engineering & Maintenance which is maintained by Constructionline. Acceptance on the Building, Engineering & Maintenance DPS enables WCS Group to engage nationally and support buyers and specifiers by category, application.
TT Games has recently awarded a water treatment and water hygiene contract to WCS Group covering all UK facilities. The contract will cover all aspects of water hygiene including Legionella Risk Assessment services to ensure compliance with ACoP L8 and chemical treatment programmes designed to reduce energy and water consumption maximising operating efficiency.
Splendid Hospitality Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing privately-owned hotel groups, has appointed WCS Group to handle water hygiene and ACoP L8 compliance at its newly refurbished Mercure Leeds (Centre) hotel.
A South Tyneside car parts manufacturer has been fined £800,000 after a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak occurred at a plant following an HSE investigation and prosecution. Five people fell seriously ill following the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak.
Newcastle Crown Court was told that between October 2014 and June 2015, two employees, two agency workers and a local resident fell seriously ill with Legionnaires’ Disease.
WCS Group, the water treatment division of Marlowe plc’s Critical Services Group, has been awarded a contract to deliver water hygiene, treatment, Legionella Control, remedial major plumbing works, system control and training for 128 sites across the UK.
