What exactly is a Legionella Risk Assessment? A Legionella Risk Assessment is comprised of a thorough review of your records and a thorough check of your past occupational references to make sure you have followed all recommendations of maintenance or remedial action. It is designed to help prevent health problems from occurring in the workplace by identifying areas that are at high risk for illness. This type of occupational assessment may be used by: a doctor, an attorney, an investigator, or a security guard. This Occupational Safety Training (OSHA) training class will explain what a occupational safety assessment is and give examples of what these types of assessments may reveal about your employer’s compliance with legal requirements regarding sick pay and other workers compensation claims.
If you work in a manufacturing or construction company, a legionella risk assessment can help identify hazardous conditions in your workplace. This assessment can be performed by a person who is either a specialist in this field, or by a competent person within the company to ensure all necessary precautions are taken and that your job does not put you at unnecessary risk. The competent person may carry out this assessment through video surveillance equipment, surveyors, or manual investigation. In many circumstances, a competent person will carry out a physical assessment first before determining whether there is cause to suspect a potential health problem, and whether appropriate steps need to be taken.
An individual may also perform an assessment using manual techniques. For example, a surveyor may visit the worksite to collect information that can assist in the analysis of hazards. Surveyors are often available on site during daylight hours, as well as part-time when the weather is satisfactory. If the site is affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, snow, tornados, or earthquakes, a qualified engineer will use data provided by a surveyor or other trained observers to assess the health hazards. When performing an assessment of risks to water usage in a specific area, an engineer will consider data obtained from surveys and studies to identify what the likely threats are for given areas of water usage, as well as the likely frequency of such events. By combining such information with knowledge about the known health risks associated with legionella and other disease-causing bacteria in the environment, engineers can determine how best to protect the public from such issues.