Legionella Control in Cooling Systems
Legionnaires Regulations and Guidelines
Repeated high-profile Legionella cases across the U.S. are driving legislative and regulatory changes for building operators of all size and industry. Ground zero for this change will be for any buildings that have open loop cooling towers. Besides Legionella pneumophila, facilities also need to be on guard for other waterborne pathogens such as Aspergillus, Mycobacteria and E. coli, among others. EAI has over 30 years of experience managing risk and driving safety improvements within this ever-evolving regulatory environment. EAI regularly follows updates from industry leading bodies such as the ASHRAE, the Cooling Technology Institute, regulators such as OSHA and state and local health departments, and independent experts to help our clients manage risk.
Cooling Water Safety Services
Tower Cleaning & Disinfection
Increasingly, facilities even outside of healthcare, either through choice or mandate, are performing two annual cooling tower acid cleanings and disinfections. From both a risk and effectiveness perspective, it is highly important that these services are performed by qualified teams and come with robust documentation. Even if your facility’s biological component of your cooling tower Water Management Program is performing to-standard, extra preventative cleanings are needed to complement a persistent biocide dosing regimen. Our cleanings include:
- Pre and post disinfection per Cooling Technology Institute (CTI) protocols with an oxidizing biocide
- Internal cooling tower surfaces are physically cleaned with pressure washing or scrubbing
- All dirt, debris, and other solids are removed from the tower basin
- Removable or external components such as drift eliminators, sound baffles, strainers, etc. are disassembled and separately cleaned and disinfected
- Project Validation Report to certify and document your proactive management
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System On-Line Disinfection
There may be instances where taking your cooling tower offline for a full cleaning is not practical with operational requirements, or you still need to take supplemental actions to eliminate a repeated pathogen issue in your system. EAI can employ industry best-practice chlorine dosing to provide disinfection using existing chemical feed pathways, without impacting your cooling tower operating cycle to the same degree required by a full offline cleaning.
Cooling System Emergency Disinfection
Planning for the worst possible scenario is something that world-class teams do. Even when you are strictly following an industry best-practice program, adverse events can occur. EAI works with our clients to have an emergency disinfection stockpile onsite or on-demand, ready for immediate application in the event of a positive Legionella test.
Tower Inspection
Each facility’s layout, operations, water management program, and cooling tower hardware is unique. The absolute prerequisite for any successful Legionella Control Plan is an initial and periodic cooling tower inspections. EAI can assist with the following aspects:
- Assess the system for low-flow areas (“dead legs”)
- Observe cooling tower deck operations and fill condition
- Inspect cooling tower components (belts, bearings, pumps, etc)
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Download our Free Cooling Tower Inspection & Preventive Maintenance Checklist.
Legionella and Advanced Microbial Testing
In addition to the standard testing procedures that come in our core Water Treatment Programs, we offer periodic testing from third-party laboratories that specialize in testing for Legionella and other pathogens. We work with clients to make sure that we are not over or under testing, managing cost to still ensure human health and safety.
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Health & Safety Operator Support
More information on our tailored training for your facilities team can be found here:
Legionella Control Plan
It is important to note that before any of the actions here are taken, we recommend that a Facility team has a fully-documented Legionella Control / Water Safety Plan in place from a certified expert. EAI has several team members with ASSE certification who partner with other independent experts to develop Water Safety Plans for facilities across industries. Launching onsite Legionella actions can be a highly involved effort for any Facilities team, and therefore requires thorough preparation and planning. EAI partners with several independent experts to complete these plans. These can be accomplished using a combination of heterotrophic dip slides, handheld adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meter testing, and other advanced water sampling and swabbing tests.
