Water

Approved documents accompanying the Building Regulations in England and Wales make specific reference to the use of sprinklers (Regulations for Scotland and Northern Ireland differ slightly). For life safety, new residential blocks over 30m high must be fitted with sprinklers to meet Approved Document B standards. Similarly an uncompartmented area in a shop or self storage building over 2000 square…

If you are responsible for a Cooling Tower. Ensure you have notified your local authority. Read more information here.

A Somercotes-based engineering firm accused of exposing employees and the public to potentially lethal legionella bacteria is facing a crown court trial. Derby Crown Court heard how Chromalloy UK Limited is facing two charges from May 2011 to June 2012 brought by the Health and Safety Executive. The first is that the company allegedly failed to ensure the health and…

A Teesside hospital says it has now received negative legionella test results, after the water supply on one of its wards was affected by the bacteria. But the affected ward at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, will remain closed, until further negative test results are confirmed. Patients at Teesside’s biggest hospital had to be moved from ward 33 to…

More than £200,000 has been awarded to families after a fatal outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Richard Griffin, 64, William Hammersley, 79, and Harry Cadman, 71, died in the summer of 2012 while many others were affected. A hot tub on display at the JTF warehouse in Stoke-on-Trent was the “probable source” of the outbreak, the Health Protection Agency said. JTF…

The Health and Safety Executive has served a Prohibition Notice on a South Tyneside company as part of an ongoing investigation into an outbreak of Legionnaires disease. The Prohibition Notice stops the operation of four cooling towers at Faltec Ltd site in Boldon where four employees and a nearby resident have been infected by legionella bacteria. Sampling of the water…

THE families of three men who died of legionnaires’ disease are still waiting to find out if a company linked to the outbreak will face manslaughter charges. Victims Richard Griffin, of Westbury Park, 79-year-old William Hammersley, of Chesterton, and Harry Cadman, aged 71, of Stoke-on-Trent, all died after being struck down with the disease which was linked to Fenton discount…

A primary school is to partially re-open today after the potentially harmful bacteria legionella was discovered in parts of its water supply, the Guardian Series reports. Nightingale Primary School in London was closed on Monday after inspectors at Redbridge council found legionella in two buildings. The airborne bacteria, commonly found in man-made water systems, is considered low-risk when managed properly but can cause Legionnaires’…