Return to work risk

THE NT’s Plumbing Industry Association is warning of a potential outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease as Territorians return to work in recently unoccupied buildings because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Plumbing Industry Association of SA & NT INC executive officer Andrew Clark said taps and showers that had been unused because of people working from home could pose a risk.

THE NT’s Plumbing Industry Association is warning of a potential outbreak of legionnaires’ disease as Territorians return to work in recently unoccupied buildings because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria, which thrive in stagnant or slow-moving water.

Plumbing Industry Association of SA & NT executive officer Andrew Clark said taps and showers that had been unused because of people working from home could pose a risk.

“With the easing of the restrictions, which is starting to happen now, and you go back into a property and turn on the tap or start drinking water out of the tap … people can get sick from stagnant water in pipes because it breeds bacteria,” Mr Clark said.

He said building owners and managers should run the taps in the building to ensure old water is flushed out.

“What we are recommending is that you should be running your taps or showers … to pump about 10L of water out,” he said.

“So, any dead legs of water are actually taken out of the system. It’s almost like a flushing of the lines.”

Mr Clark said people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly, were particularly susceptible to legionnaires’ disease.

He also recommended building managers do a maintenance check of the airconditioning systems.

“Anyone with airconditioners needs to undergo a rigorous maintenance program prior to staff coming back into the building,” Mr Clark said.

“Building owners need to be sure their maintenance programs are up to speed.”

In addition to the risk of legionnaires’ disease from stagnant or slow-flowing water, the association warns there is also the risk of gastrointestinal infections and skin infections such as those caused by fungi and pseudomonas bacteria.

A bad or gone-off taste, an unpleasant odour, or slight discolouration are features of what could indicate bacteriological growth and pipe corrosion.