Legionella


LEGIONELLA

It is an infectious agent, legionella pneumophila, an aerobic gram negative bacilli bacteria, that often grows in large filaments.

Legionella is a microorganism which, in addition to being found in natural aquatic habitats such as rivers and lakes, has found a suitable ecological niche in water systems that have been created and manipulated by man, where they can develop in densities that are far superior to those found in the natural environment.

Where it is found
In practice, Legionella is found in surrounding or semi-stagnated water systems, and its nutritional requirements include iron compounds, making it a source of infection in the following places:

  • Cooling towers.

  • Evaporative condensers.

  • Jacuzzis and warm water swimming pools or ones with no movement.

  • Ornamental fountains.

  • Cold water networks for human consumption.

  • Domestic hot water networks.

  • Other water systems that can produce aerosols.

How it is spread
Through curtains of micro droplets which are inhaled by people, being the cause of the disease known as pneumonia or Legionnaires' Disease.

How to fight against it The methodology to be used for the correct control of Legionella is given in Decree 352/2004 of 27 July and in Royal Decree 865/2003 of 4 July, which established the hygienic and health criteria for the prevention and control of Legionella.

PHS SAHICASA offers its customers a work system that covers all of the needs required in these Decrees.

All our treatments and measures are based on Royal Decree 140/2003, which establishes the health criteria for the quality of water for human consumption and on Decree 352/2004 and Royal Decree 865/2003.

Our technical staff have all studied approved courses for training people who carry out hygienic and health maintenance operations on facilities at risk of Legionella (pursuant to Order SCO/317/2003).

The facilities must be kept in an optimum state of cleanliness and disinfection, for which we follow a strict plan that ensures these parameters:

  • The cleaning and descaling of tanks, circuits and diffusers.

  • Disinfection of all the parts of the network

  • Ongoing disinfection of the water in the circuit

It is important to be totally familiar with the facilities that are going to be subjected to the control programme. Therefore we must define the individual peculiarities of each circuit, delimiting the areas at greater risk as well as the different parts and their functioning.

  • Description of the facilities, defining the critical points

  • Training of the team responsible

  • Drawing up the operations plan

  • Scheme of the facilities


We draw up a plan of each facility that includes all its components, indicating the critical points or zones from which water samples are to be taken.

Controlling the water of the facility We ensure the quality of the water with products, dosage and procedures, as well as with the introduction of physical, chemical and biological control parameters, measuring methods and their frequency.

  • Physical and chemical analysis of the water

  • Determination of the Legionella

  • Determination of the free chlorine

  • Measurement of temperatures


Cleaning and disinfection The facilities must be kept in an optimum state of cleanliness and disinfection, for which we follow a strict plan that ensures these parameters:

  • The cleaning and descaling of tanks, circuits and diffusers.

  • Disinfection of all the parts of the network

  • Ongoing disinfection of the water in the circuit

 


AUTOCONTROL PLANS

This is a transversal service to all the services that PHS Sahicasa offers for controlling water and in the environmental area in general. The main objective is to help customers know what they need to do, and when and how precisely to do so, but also in a clear and simple way regarding the measures that the customer is recommended to carry out.

This Autocontrol Plan mainly consists of:

  • Initial diagnosis of the facilities.

  • Setting up a programme of measures to comply with the regulations and in keeping with the PHS Sahicasa guidelines and diagnosis.

  • To set up detailed protocols for each of the measures

  • To elaborate registers to control all the results and all the documentation created during the execution of the autocontrol plan.


TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT

One of PHS SAHICASA's strengths is training and assessment, not only are we committed to carry out the actions for which we have been contracted, but we also question customers about the comprehensive compliance with regulations that an external company does not normally do, to ensure that the requirements are complied with and we also study whether the protocols for action established by a customer are the most suitable ones or whether they could be improved.

PHS SAHICASA obtains this service through the proximity policy between our technicians and the Technical Management and those responsible for each facility.

Training is basic in the environmental area as the technicians have to be extremely qualified due to the complex nature and variability of the tasks they carry out.

For years, PHS SAHICASA has been participating as a speaker at the official courses on legionella, meaning that we can always help customers with compulsory training or recommend them how to choose due to the excessive offer that there is in this area.

PHS SAHICASA has also decided to offer customised courses as an improvement to the training service it provides, without affecting official courses given, adapting them to the type of customer to avoid having to attend a 25-hour course in which very general things are spoken about or going into technical details that some people do not need in order to carry out their habitual work.

This individualised training can be given in face-to-face courses, but we also have an Online Platform available for our customers where students can do the course without having to travel, from a computer, on different days or doing a few hours at a time, to best suit each user's available time.

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PHS SAHICASA is an
environmental-friendly company.

We guarantee our environmental commitment as an essential value for our customers, by incorporating the latest technologies and research based on reducing the waste that is created in pest management and control.

We minimise the impact on the natural environment and protect beneficial species and we only act on those which, when they become a nuisance, are harmful to health and quality of life.

We reduce the waste generated to the minimum and we manage it in the best way possible, with authorised companies specialised in transporting and eliminating it.