BS7592 has recently undergone a rewrite, which resulted in extensive amendments. Roy Sullivan, senior consultant at the Water Hygiene Centre, explains the changes.
Two men who ran a plastics manufacturing firm in Birmingham have been sentenced to serve 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, after a court heard they ignored concerns raised over Legionella bacteria in a cooling tower at their business premises.
It’s a familiar scene: shelves, bookcases, cabinets crammed with paper in Facilities and Estates departments across the country. This is how most hospitals organise their water hygiene, and, while it’s a comprehensive record, it can quickly become ineffective.
Car parts manufacturer Faltec Europe, which was fined £1.6m over an explosion and an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that left five people seriously ill, has had its fine reduced on appeal.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which launched an investigation into the incident at Walton Lifestyles in Walton-on-the-Naze in November 2016, identified a failure in the council's system for managing the risk of legionella. Colchester Magistrates' Court was told that the regular user of the centre's facilities, fell seriously ill and was taken to hospital where he remained for 18 days. He was diagnosed with Legionnaires' Disease, sepsis, pneumonia and chronic kidney failure.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation in November 2016 after the visitor to the Walton-on-the-Naze Lifestyles centre fell ill and was hospitalised. Tests showed the showers and fitness room at the council-owned complex contained legionella bacteria, the BBC reported at the time. Ian Davidson, chief executive of Tendring District Council, confirmed that the local authority is to be prosecuted, but said its systems for managing the risk of legionella have been upgraded since the incident.
The case against whisky producer North British Distillery, legionella risk assessment service provider Pera Services and water management firm Chemtech Consultancy has ended after not guilty pleas were accepted.