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What is BS 8580-1 - Risk assessments for Legionella control about?
Legionnaires’ disease is caused by bacteria of the genus Legionella which can colonize artificial water systems and equipment containing water.
BS 8580-1 supplies guidance on a way to conduct Legionella risk assessments, which are a legal requirement. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 make specific requirements for risk assessment. 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.
Who is BS 8580-1 - Risk assessments for Legionella control for?
BS 8580-1 on risk assessments for legionella control can be adopted by:
- Water supply managers
- Building engineers
- Principle contractors, contractors, designers, installers, and commissioners
- Risk assessors
- Health & Safety inspectors
- Health industry managers
- Building services engineers
- Water treatment consultants
- Public buildings owners and operators
- Anybody involved in the management of private water supplies and building water systems
- Those responsible for the safe management of water systems especially within hospitals and the healthcare industry, leisure centres, schools, swimming pool engineers, etc.
The water quality standard can also be extended to include ships water systems.
Why should you use BS 8580-1 - Risk assessments for Legionella control?
BS 8580-1 gives recommendations and guidance on the assessment of the risk of Legionellosis presented by artificial water systems. It applies to any undertaking involving a work activity or premises controlled in connection with a trade, business, or other undertakings where water is used or stored in circumstances that could cause a reasonably foreseeable risk of exposure to legionellae and contracting Legionellosis.
BS 8580-1 applies to risk assessments being undertaken on-premises, plant, and systems for the first time, and to review and audit where a previous assessment has been undertaken and where control measures might have been implemented.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS 8580-1:2019 has been renamed (from BS 8580 to BS 8580-1) and revised to align it with the HSE ACoP L8 (4th edition) (Approval code of Practice) and associated guidance documents such as HSG 274 (Legionnaires' disease – Technical guidance) which were revised in 2014.
The HSE decided to separate the ACoP (Approval Code of Practice) from the guidance, with the latter being developed by industry groups as Health and Safety Guidance (HSG) 274 (Legionnaires' disease, Technical guidance) Parts 1, 2, and 3.
- HSG 274 Part 1 is concerned with cooling towers
- HSG 274 Part 2 is concerned with hot and cold water services
- HSG 274 Part 3 is concerned with “other” systems
They all include a recommended inspection frequency.
Following the revision of the above documents, one description of the risk assessment process and outputs does not fit all. For example, residential property assessments are at one end and hospitals at the other.
The revision also takes into account HSG 282 - Control of legionella and other infectious agents in spa-pools – a system that was published in January 2017. There was also a need to update references within the standard.
Want to learn more? Read our blog: What you need to know about the revised Legionella Risk Assessment Standard
Find out more about the latest standards BS 8580-2:2022 and BS 7592:2022 by checking out our Webinar replay: Reducing the Risk of Waterborne Infections with British Standards
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