This month, the Health and Safety Executive published a press release (https://press.hse.gov.uk/2023/06/06/firm-fined-following-outbreak-of-legionnaires-disease/?utm_source=hse.gov.uk&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=press-channels-push&utm_term=legionnaires&utm_content=news-page&_ga=2.42254821.1520758946.1686754425-1104253054.1643367392) following its successful prosecution of Riaar Plastics Limited, of West Bromwich. The company had failed to manage risks from cooling towers located at its site in Black Lake. Following a guilty plea, Riaar Plastics Limited were fined £50,000, with costs of £11,000, for putting its workers and members of the public at an ‘extreme risk of exposure’ to Legionella, and which resulted in five people being infected, one of whom required intensive care.
Although the condition of the cooling towers at Riaar Plastics Limited were exceptionally poor and resulted in actual harm, it is worth remembering that HSE can and will take enforcement action against operators of evaporative cooling plant for failure to meet the required legal standards of risk management, even in absence of actual harm occurring. This being the case, it is imperative that all operators maintain the highest standards of control.
At HSL, we are very proud of all of the services we offer, and our work on cooling towers and evaporative condensers is no exception. In 2022, in partnership with Envirocloud, we instigated a comprehensive programme to audit standards of Legionella risk management at all of our customers’ sites that operate evaporative cooling plant. This proactive initiative was over and above our contractual obligations and was intended to identify any issues relating to the management and operation of the plant that could result in elevated risks, and to nip them in the bud. In doing so, our customers can be assured that, not only are their cooling towers and evaporative condensers operating to the required legal standard, but they are also being managed to the highest possible standard too.
We believe that this policy is best for both HSL and our customers, and we continue to take a proactive approach to audit other high-risk health and safety systems, which we will cover in future editions of this blog – hope to see you then! (Dr Paul McDermott, 2023)
