5 Reasons to Get a Second Opinion on Your Legionella Risk Assessment
A Legionella risk assessment is a critical part of your water management program development. However, a Legionella risk assessment is not a one-and-done event. It is better thought of as a snapshot in time because your Legionella risks may change such as when piping and other environmental factors change. Moreover, as systems age and Legionella remediation or mitigation continues, new factors such as biofilm or even bacterial resistance can change the level of Legionella or other waterborne pathogens in your system.With that in mind, here are 5 reasons to get a second opinion on your Legionella risk assessment:
1) Time has passed. If you haven’t had a Legionella risk assessment recently, it’s time for a check-up. Your water management program is only as good as its current level of protection. Aging equipment and changes in ambient temperatures are important Legionella risk factors that must be re-evaluated as time progresses. As they say in the financial industry, past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
2) System elements have changed. It’s rare that systems are static, without any changes in piping, alterations in configurations, or replacement or additions of equipment. Simply removing a piece of equipment and capping off a pipe can result in a deadhead – a significant Legionella risk factor – that the original risk assessment did not take into consideration.
3) Your Legionella risk is high. If your facility has potentially high Legionella legal liability or there are high-risk factors for human health, you should get a second opinion on your Legionella risk assessment regardless of the amount of time or system changes. This is why second opinions for critical medical diagnoses are common among patients and welcomed by doctors. When the stakes are high, you need a second opinion about your Legionella risks.
4) Better Legionella control options are available. If your facility serves immunocompromised clients or patients, even the smallest amount of Legionella could be a deadly threat. New Legionella control approaches and equipment have been developed that are better at protecting vulnerable populations. For example, until recently there was no such thing as a water softener designed to minimize Legionella, but now this patent-pending equipment can reduce your Legionella risk.
5) More efficient Legionella control options have been developed. Even if Legionella testing shows that levels are acceptable, it may be that there are new Legionella remediation and control options that are more cost-effective. These new options can save you money and will quickly payout. Tip: Independent Legionella experts can identify the most cost-effective solutions for your facility because they are not biased toward a particular approach to Legionella control.
If you’ve never had a Legionella risk assessment conducted for your facility, it’s imperative that you do so now. But even if you have previously had a Legionella risk assessment, it’s very likely that you are now in need of a second opinion. Contact the independent Legionella experts at Legionella Control Systems to learn more.
