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Legionella Population Control in Cooling Water Systems, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555815660/9781555813901_Chap125-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555815660/9781555813901_Chap125-2.gifAbstract:
The use of a specific chemical product to minimize the population density of bacteria is the required and usual approach to prevent cooling towers from becoming amplifiers of Legionella. Sampling the cooling water to control bacterial populations is the most common way to evaluate the water treatment program’s efficiency. This chapter compares Legionella population counts obtained from different trials on the system to determine the most representative sampling point of the cooling water. Then the authors checked the results obtained after 3, 5, and 10 days of incubation in order to test the relevancy of the results. Experiments were performed on Climespace cooling tower plants in Paris, France. On site, the basin towers were connected. The results obtained from the different points showed that the tower basin provides irregular Legionella concentrations. The results obtained from the air flush-out sample show scattered distribution. To date, the use of other techniques which make it possible to evaluate all the Legionella (like the technique by PCR) could lead to an abusive use of the chemical treatments generating a significant risk to the environment.