Austria lacks clear rules for handling Legionella contamination

Austria has no uniform rules for checking kindergartens, hospitals and nursing homes after Legionella contamination, ORF reports. The term Legionella does not appear in the regulations of the country’s nine federal states, which can leave authorities and facility operators unsure how to respond when water is contaminated.

In Styria, laws, Austrian standards and regulations govern health risks linked to drinking water. Klaus Vander, medical director of KAGes’ Institute for Hospital Hygiene and Microbiology, said the Styrian provincial health directorate had issued a directive covering healthcare. Kindergartens and schools are governed by Austrian standard ÖNORM B 1921, which is binding on operators even when they meet their duty of care.

Annual inspections required

Thomas Fleischanderl, head of environmental protection at TÜV, said operators had to inspect their buildings once a year in all relevant areas, including drinking water.

Austria’s national Drinking Water Ordinance currently regulates water quality from the source to the building connection and the cold-water meter, Fleischanderl said. Once the water is inside the building, including hot water, it is covered by regulations issued by the individual federal states.

Fleischanderl said it would have been significantly simpler to regulate hot water as an addition to the national Drinking Water Ordinance. Vander said this was possible, but would require considerable resources. If hot water were included in the ordinance, the rules would become binding, he said, adding that the authorities’ available resources would need to be assessed.