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10 ways plumbing engineers can prevent legionnaires' disease.

Article Excerpt
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Legionnaires' disease, a deadly pneumonia, is caused by inhaling small water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria, or by accidentally choking the bacteria into the lungs while drinking. People can be infected with Legionella while washing their hands or face, brushing their teeth, showering, walking by a decorative fountain, bathing in a whirlpool spa, drinking from a water fountain, or inhaling mist emitted from a cooling tower. The risk is reduced by minimizing Legionella bacteria in water systems, preventing transmission of the bacteria from water to people, or increasing an individual's immunity. Based on currently available knowledge and technology, minimizing Legionella bacteria in water systems is the primary means of prevention.

It is not surprising that plumbing systems are implicated in a significant number of Legionnaires' outbreaks--they provide a good habitat for Legionella as well as many points of exposure. Designing, installing, operating, and maintaining plumbing systems to minimize Legionella bacteria is, therefore, key to reducing risk of disease. This gives plumbing engineers a greater role in Legionnaires' prevention than doctors, infection control professionals, HVAC engineers, water treatment specialists, microbiologists or epidemiologists. Only facility managers have equal or greater responsibility.

Reducing Health and Legal Risk

Plumbing engineers must therefore understand and implement Legionella--preventive designs and specifications, not only for the moral obligation to protect health and life, but to reduce legal risk. If you design a plumbing system for a building that is implicated in a case of Legionnaires' disease, you may be sued by the person who got...

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