Starting in 2014, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will be inspecting 5000 cooling towers across the UK as an intervention effort to reduce Legionnaires’ disease risk.
HSE is “an independent regulator that works to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain’s workplaces.” The HSE found that cooling towers were the sites with the biggest risk for Legionella growth. After completing inspections at multiple sites, they highlighted the following concerning matters:
- Leaky joints on cooling towers
- Rust (common breeding ground and food source for Legionella
- Exterior damage to cladding
- Moss and grass growth in and around the cooling tower
The HSE has come up with a ranking method to place priority on certain sites to visit first over others. They expect that the intervention program to greatly increase cooling tower owners’ knowledge and awareness about Legionella and, in turn, reduce risk of exposure.