Leading health, safety and environment consultancy, Eton Environmental Group has launched its own online legionella awareness course.
The course aims to help businesses and individuals who are in charges of premises, such as commercial offices or domestic dwellings understand more about their legal responsibilities and the health risks created by legionella bacteria.
This will also help the ‘dutyholders’ to establish legionella risk and define any action that should be taken to prevent the spread of legionella bacteria.
Eton Environmental Group Director Joanna Shaefer said: “We have developed the course alongside national health and safety professionals and it will help businesses/individuals comply with national legislation.
“The course is suitable for anyone in charge of premises, no matter how big or small they are. This includes all employers, self-employed people and anyone else in control of premises, such as landlords and letting agents.
“Each year, in the UK, there are around 400 cases of Legionnaire’s Disease and the majority are caused by workplace exposure to legionella bacteria found in man-made waste systems, particularly hot and cold water systems.
“In 2016, one UK firm was fined £1.8 million after pleading guilty to failing to reduce the risk of legionnaire’s disease in it water system, so it can have huge consequences on a business.
“Our course costs only £50, so when you weigh this up against the potential financial penalties, not to mention health risks to staff, we believe it will be money well spent.”
The Eton course is fully online and divided into three accessible, easy-to-understand modules – an introduction to legionella, legal responsibilities and managing legionella in water systems. Each section has multiple choice questions to answer.
The course takes around two hours to complete but there are no time limits so people can save their progress and return to at a later point. At the end of the course, one they have passed (the test can be taken as many times as needed at no extra cost) they are then able to download a certificate.
