The foremost criterion of a risk assessment is the acknowledgment of a well defined management framework within the company, to allocate responsibilities to named individuals. This is important, as they will individually become responsible in the event of any legal proceedings.

The assessor must establish and evaluate the risk of legionella by taking the following actions:

• The systems at risk should be brought to light, any previous risk assessments should be read. The condition of the system and accessibility must be known as an inaccessible area cannot be assessed.
• Design features that contribute to the risk of bacteria growth should be identified (e.g. tank much larger than is required).
• The assessor may look at the facility managers' ability to maintain control of legionella and their staff's competence to carry out maintenance on the system.

The above points will ensure a valid risk assessment, ensuring systems accessible in contact with water are examined and recommendations based on their condition then be made.

The Risk Assessment - Legislative Requirements

A risk assessment should follow the guidelines from the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) as this is approved by the Health and Safety Commission, and gives practical and comprehensive guidelines on how to comply with the law. The ACoP has special legal status, so if you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety laws, and have not followed the ACoP, you would have to demonstrate the other ways in which you had followed the law.

According to the Health and safety Executive employers and landlords must:

*identify and assess the risks-look for water stored between 20 and 45 deg C, installations such as showers that distribute water droplets, and people who may be particularly susceptible;

*Prepare a scheme to control risk, or prevent it entirely;

*Nominate a ‘responsible person’ to manage the scheme;

*Keep records;

*Notify the local authority if there are cooling towers or evaporative condensers on site.

By following the correct guidelines set out by the ACoP you will be minimizing risk of an outbreak but also protecting the management and company from large fines and in the worse cases, jail sentences. Unfortunately you may not always be able to prevent an out break however by following the law in the correct way both you and your company would not be held responsible or negligent in a court of law.