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Showing posts with label HVAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HVAC. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

NYC's Legionnaire Outbreak Over, Leading to New Requirements for Building Owners.

The recent legionnaire's disease outbreak in the Bronx, is over according to the New York City Health Department.  The impact of this disease outbreak seems to have not had an impact on the Opera House Hotel (according to the New York Times) which was at the center of the outbreak.  A far cry from the first legionnaire outbreak back in 1976.  That outbreak caused the closing of the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, four months after the outbreak and it did not reopen until 1979.

English: Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia
English: Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Legionnaire's disease is caused by a common gram negative rod-shaped bacterium called Legionella. It is widely distributed natural inhabitant of waters.  There are approximately 50 species and 70 serogroups have been described.  The 1976 occurrence in Philadelphia had 221 people that were treated and 34 deaths.  Legionella bacterium was found in the cooling tower of the hotel's air conditioning system.

Legionnaire's disease symptoms include fever, chills, cough, muscle aches, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, loss of coordination and occasionally diarrhea and vomiting.  Typically takes 2-10 days to incubate.  Many cases go undiagnosed and transmission is not person to person.  It is treatable with antibiotics if diagnosed early enough.

The infection occurs from inhaling water droplets that originated from a water source contaminated with Legionella.  Typical manmade sources include cooling towers, evaporative coolers, hot water systems, showers, whirlpool spas, architectural fountains, room-air humidifiers, ice-making machines and misting equipment.  Environmental sources are freshwater ponds, rivers and creeks. 

A forced draft cooling tower
A forced draft cooling tower (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Commonly used method of analysis is the methodology from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) which involves collecting a sample of the water source. Culture Analysis is considered the "gold standard" and analysis can take 10-14 days.  The OSHA Technical Manual offers the following guidelines for interpreting Legionella analysis results (numbers are in colony forming units per milliliter (cfu/ml)):

ACTION    COOLING TOWER   DOMESTIC WATER    HUMIDIFIER
  1                     100                           10                     1
  2                    1000                         100                    10

Action 1: Prompt cleaning and/or biocide treatment of the system.
Action 2: Immediate cleaning and/or biocide treatment.
As part of the outbreak, the New York City Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) issued a mandatory order to have cooling systems inspected and remediated within 14 days of receipt of the order.  New York City has recently passed new requirements (Local Law 77 of 2015) for the registration of cooling towers and evaporating condensers.  Existing cooling towers and evaporative condensers must be registered with the New York City Building Department (NYC DOB) by September 17, 2015.  Visit the NYC DOB website for more info.  The DOHMH order requires building owners to hire environmental consultants experienced in disinfection using current industry standard protocols including the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 188P and Cooling Technology Institute Guidelines WTB-148. 

Disinfection will require the use of biocides, biocides are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC).  EPA regulates the labeling and use of biocides.  NYS DEC requires a commercial pesticide applicator certification in Category 7G - Cooling Towers, Pulp & Paper Process.

Will these new requirements prevent another outbreak?  Only if the regulations are enforced.  There are many laws on the books, however, how many of them are enforced.  You can almost say instead of "the devil is in the details", you should say "the devil is in enforcement".  Be Safe!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Importance of Developing a Marketing Plan

Marketing PlanImage by EmaStudios via FlickrThe above linked article by Cochrane & Associates, LLC, an environmental, mold, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and indoor air quality industries' only dedicated marketing, public relations and business development consulting firm, discusses the importance of developing a marketing plan.  Now is the time to develop your plan for 2011.  The article discusses the important points of a marketing plan these are:
  • Goals
  • Methods
  • Frequency
  • Timeframes
  • Assign Tasks
  • Budget
  • Methods for Evaluating Success
Read the article to find out the details.

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Improved Air Quality, Improves Student Performance


A new study featured in the October issue of the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineer's (ASHRAE) Journal indicates that student performance improves, when the air quality in the classroom improves. This research indicates that by lowering the temperature in the classroom and increasing the amount of ventilation supplied to the classroom, will reduce how many errors are made and increase how quickly the student works by 10 to 20 percent (%). These results, which confirms earlier research done by ASHRAE, once finalized will be incorporated into ASHRAE's technical guidance, that is used by engineers to design heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in all buildings. The study also provides several suggestions for school officials to improve learning conditions:
  • Visit each classroom to ensure HVAC systems are operating properly.
  • Develop and adhere to a preventative maintenance program for all HVAC equipment on site.
  • Allow and encourage teachers to lower the temperature in the classroom on warmer days.
  • Investigate and implement methods to reduce heat build-up in classrooms.
  • Allow and encourage teachers to open operable windows in the classroom on milder days.
  • Encourage maintenance staff to replace supply air filters more frequently, particularly during pollen season.
  • Investigate the feasibility of introducing more outside air into the classrooms than codes require in an energy efficient manner.

Imagine your son/daughter able to improve themselves by 10-20%. Making 10-20% less errors may be the difference between an A- or B+ for a grade. Being 10-20% quicker may mean the difference between finishing the exam and not finishing the exam. This difference achieved by making sure the classroom is cool and well ventilated. Making sure the student is confortable in the classroom. It is amazing how comfort can have such a significant impact on errors, speed, and for office workers productivity. This research indicates that putting indoor air quality programs in place will provide significant benefits based on their costs. So give us a call to help you implement your own program.


That Time of Year! Conferences, Posting Requirements, and OSHA Violations Increased!

It's that time of year again. We're between conferences.  February 15-16, 2024 was the Professional Abatement Contractors of New Yor...