How to prevent legionnaires disease in cooling towers

Legionnaires bacteria could rife in cooling towers

What is Legionella?

Legionella or Legionnaires’ disease is a type of Legionellosis caused by Legionella pneumophila. We are talking about potentially fatal, acute respiratory infection caused by aerobic bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella.
The Legionella bacteria lives in water and soil, mostly near rivers, streams, lakes. In its natural habitat Legionella’s bacteria appears in low numbers, in these conditions it’s considered harmless.
However, in special conditions, like warmer and stagnant water, the bacteria can grow exponentially and increase the risk of exposure.
The Legionella’s bacteria tend to grow in the slimes, that can be found in stagnant or low flow water areas. The risk occurs when legionella is found in high concentrations near inhabited areas.

The risk of Legionella in Cooling Towers

Common cooling towers contain large amounts of stagnant water, because of this the become a potential breeding ground for the Legionella’s bacteria.
If these cooling towers are not properly disinfected and maintained, they can potentially expose the nearby population to contract the Legionnaires’ disease. The water flowing in the cooling towers gets heated via heat exchange, creating the perfect growing environment for the heat-loving bacteria of Legionella.
The fans on top of the cooling towers disperse the water vapor in the air, and the Legionella’s is aerosolized in the nearby areas. Because Legionnaires disease is airborne contagious, constantly treating and maintaining cooling towers in good condition is fundamental for the safety.

Reducing the risk of Legionella with Boldrocchi T.E. Cooling Towers

Boldrocchi T.E. is specialized in design and construction of Cooling Towers Legionella free. The technology implied in the construction and the further treatments of our products guarantees to prevent Legionella in our cooling towers.
The possibility of a Legionella infection in our cooling towers is significantly reduced by a good engineering and water treatment procedures during the installation, operation and maintenance of our legionella free cooling towers.
If you need any information about the relation between cooling towers and Legionnaires’ disease, our legionella free cooling towers or any of our products, please do not hesitate to contact us.