Guidance – controlling legionella in the oil and gas industry

The recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Scotland has prompted the Energy Institute to review its guidance on legionella control for the oil and gas industry.

The Institute’s Occupational Health and Hygiene Committee has updated its existing technical guidance, and is working on a second publication specific to cooling-tower maintenance, both of which are now available to pre-order.

Legionellosis risk management and Legionella control – Guidance for oil and gas facilities, offshore platforms and refineries covers the requirements of the HSE’s Approved Code of Practice for ‘The control of Legionella bacteria in water systems’ (L8).

The EI says the document will help users in the development of a legionellosis management system and legionella control programmes, providing recommendations, further reading and example logbooks for carrying out assessment checks.
   
The second publication, entitled Cooling tower maintenance and other controls for the effective management of Legionella risk, will be available later in the year.

Commenting on the updated guidance, Ms Lynne Morgan FEI, chair of the Occupational Health and Hygiene Committee, said: “[It] supports the requirements set out by HSE, and addresses specific operating practices unique to some specific energy-industry installations.

“The problem for industry is that water systems can become heavily contaminated with potentially lethal bacteria. The responsibility of the EI’s Occupational Health and Hygiene Committee is to advise industry on appropriate workplace health-protection issues and, where possible, provide relevant technical guidance and control measures.”

The publications can be ordered online at www.energypublishing.org
 

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In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.

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