Posted by William Vander Plaats on Thu, Jun 03, 2010 @ 01:45 PM
Another recent round of outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease have made the news recently, underscoring the fact that even though we know the cause, prevention is still not always taken very seriously. Like those Legionella cases mentioned back in mid-December, many of these may have been prevented as well. According to the Center for Disease Control, the disease has already caused 538 deaths in the U.S. so far this year, and even more non-lethal cases have been found.
- In Sacramento, a cooling tower that cools and heats California's state capital building has twice tested positive for very low levels of Legionella
- Australia has seen a jump in cases of Legionnaires Disease recently as well. In the Victoria province alone there have already been 34 cases to date -- double the average
- In the United Kingdom, a recent death attributed to Legionella at a hospital and
- Also in the UK, fines charged to a building owner for NOT having a Legionella prevention system for the cooling towers
ASHRAE Guideline 12 outlines ways in which Legionella can be prevented, and a centrifugal separator is a suggested part of the solution. Properly sized and applied, it can prevent the situations in which Legionella can grow.
Legionella In Healthcare Environments
Hospitals and other healthcare environments are particularly vulnerable to Legionella and other bacteria because of the demographics of the patients, including elderly people and those already suffering immune deficiencies. Following proper cooling tower basin cleaning techniques in these facilities is a great step to prevent the growth of Legionella, but also to save water, energy, and reduce other liability risks inside the hospital.
Want to learn more about the special Legionella challenges in hospitals? Or just about preventing Legionella in general?
Visit our special hospital filtration page or download our "Preventing Legionella" brochure !