Cooling towers:
From rule to regulation.
From duty to compulsion.
Current cases force us to act
It was some dramatic legionellosis outbreaks that provided the impetus. The most severe was the case in Warstein in 2013, which was covered by the media nationwide: 165 people became ill and two died. The cause was identified as legionella in cooling towers, recooling and air conditioning systems.
Already in the following year the VDI presented the draft of guideline 2047 part 2, which describes the hygienic operation of evaporative cooling systems. At the same time, work began on the 42nd regulation for the implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act, in short BImSchV. Among other things, this regulation lists VDI Guideline 2047 as the authoritative set of rules.
In the spring and summer of 2017, things got serious: First the aforementioned 42nd BImSchV went through the Federal Cabinet and the Federal Council; then it was published on 19 July. Thus, the date for its entry into force is August 19, 2017.
Operators must now take their obligations more seriously
Operators of such plants must now take their duties more seriously than ever: they are explicitly responsible and are accountable for hygienically flawless operation. Above all: They must protect third parties from hazards.
The individual measures and information requirements are described in the Regulation. It is not easy to keep an overview between all the paragraphs and to make the right decisions. Nevertheless, as an operator you should not allow yourself to make any mistakes: For example, according to § 19 of the new ordinance, it is already an administrative offence to operate a plant with operating materials that are not compatible with the materials present in the plant.
We support you in the implementation
Of course, we also provide detailed advice on water treatment and hygiene: JUDO has its own laboratory specialising in water analysis. Our experts analyse samples according to all important parameters, support you in the evaluation and interpretation of the analysis and help you to select suitable measures.
Better safe than sorry.
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