Accepta Newsletter: Issue 28

Welcome to issue 28; this month we continue with part 3 of our serialisation of the UK's primary Legionella control document, the Health and Safety Executive’s Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) "Legionnaires' disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems" (L8)". We also feature an excellent good practice guide about improving effluent treatment practices in paper and board mills, and a brief article on international sales strategy.

If you find our newsletter useful please pass it on to friends and colleagues. And if there are any subjects you'd like to see included in future issues please e-mail me at sdooner@accepta.com.

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In this issue:

• Part 3 - The UK's Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and Guidance "Legionnaires' disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems" (L8).
• Cost Effective Effluent Treatment in Paper and Board Mills.
• Sales & Marketing Workshop - Tips from an International Guru.

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Approved Code of Practice Part 3

Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and Guidance

"Legionnaires' disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems" (L8)

Part 1: The Approved Code of Practice

Scope and application

ACOP

18 - This Approved Code of Practice applies to the control of legionella bacteria in any undertaking involving a work activity and to premises controlled in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking where water is used or stored and where there is a means of creating and transmitting water droplets which may be inhaled, thereby causing a reasonably foreseeable risk of exposure to legionella bacteria.

19 - A reasonably foreseeable risk of exposure to legionella bacteria exists in:

(a) - water systems incorporating a cooling tower;

(b) - water systems incorporating an evaporative condenser;

(c) -hot and cold water systems; and

other plant and systems containing water which is likely to exceed 20°C and which may release a spray or aerosol (ie a cloud of droplets and/or droplet nuclei) during operation or when being maintained. Guidance

20 - Experience has shown that cooling towers, evaporative condensers and hot and cold water systems in a wide variety of workplaces present a risk of exposure to legionella bacteria. Further guidance on systems that may present a risk can be found in Part 2. Not all of the systems listed in paragraph 19 will require elaborate assessment and control measures. A simple risk assessment may show that the risks are low and in such case no further action will be necessary. Examples include small, domestic-type water systems where temperatures and turnover are high, or where instantaneous water heaters are used.

21 - A water system includes all plant/equipment and components associated with that system, eg all associated pipe-work, pumps, feed tanks, valves, showers, heat exchangers, quench tanks, chillers etc. It is important that the system is considered as a whole and not, for example, the cooling tower in isolation. Deadlegs and parts of the system used intermittently, eg test loops in engineering factories and injection moulding machines, also need to be included as part of the system since they can create particular problems with microbial growth going unnoticed. Once brought back on-line they can cause heavy contamination, which could disrupt the efficacy of the water treatment regime.

22 - For other systems, such as humidifiers and air washers, spa baths and pools, car/bus washes, wet scrubbers, indoor fountains and water features, advice on control measures is given in the text and in Table 3 of Appendix 1.

Identification and assessment of the risk

Regulations

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999, Regulation 6

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Sections 2, 3 and 4.

ACOP

23 - A suitable and sufficient assessment is required to identify and assess the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria from work activities and water systems on the premises and any necessary precautionary measures. The assessment is carried out by or on behalf of:

(a) - the employer, where the risk from their undertaking is to their employees or to others; or

(b) - a self-employed person, where there is a risk from their undertaking to themselves or to others; or

(c) - the person who is in control of premises or systems in connection with work where the risk is present from systems in the building (eg where a building is let to tenants but the landlord retains responsibility for its maintenance).

24 - In conducting the assessment, the person on whom the statutory duty falls is required to have access to competent help to assess the risks of exposure to legionella bacteria in the water systems present in the premises and the necessary control measures.

25 - The assessment should include identification and evaluation of potential sources of risk and:

(a) - the particular means by which exposure to legionella bacteria is to be prevented; or

(b) - if prevention is not reasonably practicable, the particular means by which the risk from exposure to legionella bacteria is to be controlled.

26 - Where the assessment demonstrates that there is no reasonably foreseeable risk or that risks are insignificant and unlikely to increase, no further assessment or measures are necessary. However, should the situation change, the assessment needs to be reviewed and any necessary changes implemented.

27 - The assessment needs to be reviewed regularly and, in any case, whenever there is reason to believe that the original assessment may no longer be valid.

Extracted with permission from "Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and Guidance "Legionnaires' disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems" (L8)" © Crown copyright

more next time.....

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Cost Effective Effluent Treatment

in Paper and Board Mills

Effluent treatment is of increasing importance for UK paper and board mills as they strive to:

• meet increasingly stringent discharge consent conditions;
• reduce operating costs.

This Good Practice Guide is intended to help mills optimise the performance of their effluent treatment plant by evaluating their existing processes and then implementing measures recognised as good practice within the industry. The Guide describes the main control parameters for each process and explains how to address common effluent treatment issues.

Before reviewing the operation of their effluent treatment plant, mills are urged to take action to minimise the amount and strength of the effluent produced by the mill. Producing less effluent in the first place will reduce the demands made on the effluent treatment plant and thus save both money and effort. Effective balancing to even out the flow and load on the effluent treatment plant is also important for cost-effective operation.

The Guide covers:

primary treatment to remove fibre and other suspended solids from the process;

secondary biological treatment (aerobic or anaerobic) to remove soluble organic pollutants;

tertiary treatment, ie effluent polishing, to produce water of a quality suitable for recycling to mill processes and/or remove residual pollutants;

sludge dewatering to reduce sludge treatment and disposal costs.

To minimise operating costs while retaining acceptable performance, it is essential to understand the different processes and to monitor key control parameters. The Guide pays particular attention to the activated sludge process, with an overview of the microbiology of this process and suggestions on how to optimise the process in terms of the food:mass ratio, sludge age and dissolved oxygen content. Ways of preventing and tackling common operational problems, eg bulking activated sludge and foaming, are described. Five Industry Examples illustrate the improvements that can be made by implementing the measures described in this Guide.

Optimising the operation of the effluent treatment plant will reduce the mill’s operating costs and make it easier for the mill to comply with its discharge consent conditions. Mills discharging to sewer will also reduce their trade effluent charges.

Contents of the guide include

• Introduction
• Primary treatment
• Secondary biological treatment
• Tertiary treatment
• Sludge treatment and disposal
• Industry Examples
• Action Plan

Extracted from "Cost Effective Effluent Treatment in Paper and Board Mills" © Crown copyright

For your complimentary copy of this excellent guide please e-mail me at sdooner@accepta.com quoting the full title of the document.

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Top Level Tips from

an International Sales Guru

This month we’ve included a few useful “stretching” exercises from the international management guru Theodore Levitt:

Don’t focus on industry – focus on markets.

Define your business in a broad and meaningful way.

Define business in terms of consumer needs.

Continually review your capabilities to reflect changing market needs.

There is no growth industry as such – only opportunities for growth.

Create value for customers.

Make use of product life cycle and develop imaginative marketing solutions.

There is no such thing as a commodity.

Differentiate by enhancing attributes associated with generic products.

Respond enthusiastically to the challenges of globalisation.

The globalisation process affects products and services, tangibles and intangibles.

Globalisation of markets doesn’t mean the end of choice.