Minimising the risk of Legionnaires' disease (TM13)

Greg Davies, Giles Green, John Lee, Robert Macleod-Smith, John Newbold, Martin Shouler, Chris Wilding, Julian Williams

• Publisher: The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781906846336
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Construction & Architectural Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This Technical Memorandum offers guidance on the appropriate design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance procedures necessary to minimise the risk of infection by Legionella from water systems within a building. Principles are highlighted, and practitioners in these fi elds are encouraged to apply them to their own particular building services applications.While the emphasis is on engineering, it is important to recognise that the best engineering solutions can fail, and have failed, if their operation and implementation are not managed effectively. Some indications of how to implement effective management procedures areincluded.It has been over 10 years since TM13 (CIBSE, 2002) was last reviewed. While some aspects of the guidance have changed signifi cantly, in light of the legal, environmental and technological advancements that have occurred, advice in other areas has remained unchanged.In the fields of water conservation and the environment in particular, new systems and services have been introduced and, no doubt, further developments will take place. It would be impossible therefore to list and categorise all potential sources of hazard in relation to Legionella and building services. What the authors have sought to do is to cover in detail the processes associated with the more commonly encountered or potentially higher risk systems and the principles that should be considered for the effective management of all other water systems in buildings.The authors are also aware that specifi c industry and sector guidance is available and again, where appropriate, this has been referenced. This list is not exhaustive, however, and the information referenced has been chosen to best represent the intended audience of this publication. It is hoped that the appeal of the document and its usefulness will extend beyond this group, however.Concerns about the control of Legionella are becoming an ever more signifi cant public health issue internationally. This update provides a reference to aspects of requirements or guidance that exist outside the UK. While some of the governing principles for managing the risks may be different, many similar themes are evident; the processes described in this guidance will provide a valuable additional tool for supporting compliance beyond the UK.

Table of contents

• TM13 Minimising the risk of Legionnaires’ disease OFC
• Foreword
• Contents
• 1 Legionnaires’ disease: background
• 2 Regulatory framework
• 3 Risk management
• 4 Evaporative cooling applications
• 5 Hot and cold water services
• 6 Spa pools, whirlpool spas and whirlpool baths
• 7 Other possible risk areas
• 8 Conclusions and further information
• References
• Bibliography
• Appendix A1: Glossary
• Appendix A2: Emergency cleaning procedure for cooling towers and hot and cold water service systems
• Appendix A3: Guidance for suspected outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease
• Appendix A4: System checklists
• Appendix A5: International legislation, standards and sources of guidance
• Index