Broadcasts.com - "199 The One About Cooling Towers and Legionella Bacteria" (Scaling UP! H2O)

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199 The One About Cooling Towers and Legionella Bacteria

Published: June 18, 2021, 5 a.m.

Every time I talk to\\xa0Chris Nagle,\\xa0I learn something new. I end the conversation more curious than when we start chatting, and I feel energized and empowered to take a deeper\\xa0dive,\\xa0so I become a better water treater.\\xa0Chris has a background in water treatment and works at Evapco, one of the largest cooling tower manufacturers in the world.\\xa0\\xa0

Chris is a\\xa0Legionella Bacteria and Cooling Tower\\xa0Expert because he took the time to comb through years of data and reports to find some truly shocking revelations. He didn\\u2019t take things at face value. He did the math and research to discover something new about Legionella Bacteria and government regulations that I think every water treater should know.\\xa0

Chris is a passionate investigator and today he is going to touch on what you need to know about Legionella Bacteria transmission, Drift Eliminators, White Rust, Potable Water, Tower Plume, Distributed Water System, Seeding Events, Evaporative Cooling, Tower Louvers, and more. \\xa0

If you were not able to watch Chris Nagle\\u2019s presentation at AWT\\u2019s 2020 conference, we\\u2019ve put a link to that below.\\xa0\\xa0

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Bottom line:\\xa0Chris knows his stuff and you cannot listen to today\\u2019s episode without learning something new.\\xa0

Your roadside friend, as you travel from client to client. \\xa0

-Trace \\xa0

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Timestamps:\\xa0\\xa0

James\\u2019 Challenge: \\u201cDig through the AWT (www.awt.org) website for resources (both members and nonmembers).\\u201d [5:00]\\xa0

Introducing Chris Nagle, Legionella Bacteria and Cooling Tower Expert [7:00]\\xa0

Understanding the 4 types of cooling towers so you can use the right program [10:42]\\xa0

Ways to educate others and the Media on Legionella and Cooling Towers [17:55]\\xa0

What are the government regulations around Cooling Towers and Legionella, and are they reducing the number of cases? [21:48]\\xa0

The problem with the Distributed Water System [25:10]\\xa0

What do we need to know about Drift Eliminators? [28:55]\\xa0

Is there an amount of CFUs of Legionella bacteria that is virtually impossible to get out of a modern-day Drift Eliminator? [37:28]\\xa0

How should we evaluate a Cooling Tower, and talk to our clients? [40:10]\\xa0

What\\u2019s the difference between a Tower Louver and a Drift Eliminator? [45:40]\\xa0\\xa0

What is a Tower Plume, and can it spread Legionella Bacteria? [48:18]\\xa0

What resources should every water treater read (*links are below*) [50:05]\\xa0

What\\u2019s the one thing you want all the listeners to know? [55:12]\\xa0

Lightning Round Questions [57:12]\\xa0\\xa0

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Quotes:\\xa0

\\u201cLegionella Bacteria and Legionnaires Disease is not a cooling tower problem, it\\u2019s a distributive water modern society problem.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cWe educate through data, data sharing, and education.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cJust because we find Legionella in a cooling tower doesn\\u2019t mean it is the source of the disease.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cIt\\u2019s a slippery slope if we start copying and pasting from one regulation to the next, or we start making assumptions based on what someone else has said.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cLegionella got its name from a Legionnaires convention in Philadelphia in 1976.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cLegionella regulations have not produced a meaningful reduction of the disease.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cThe data shows that even if we test more often, the regulations are not helping the Legionella rates to go down.\\u201d - Chris Nagle

If we want to get at most of the disease, we need to look more broadly at all building water systems and the supply water systems.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

We used to think \\u201cHow do we treat the water to stop the transmission of Legionella,\\u201d\\xa0but now we can think about \\u201cHow can we better equip the cooling tower, the device, so it doesn\\u2019t get out of the machine itself.\\u201d - Trace Blackmore\\xa0

\\u201cMake sure you understand your system volume. We don\\u2019t want to be overfeeding.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cWe\\u2019re water treaters. We need to know how much water we are treating.\\u201d - Trace Blackmore\\xa0

\\u201cLegionella Bacteria in low levels in a modern tower is not an indicator of an outbreak or potential outbreak.\\u201d -Chris Nagle

\\u201cPlume cannot create a risk for Legionella because it is water vapor, not water droplets.\\u201d -Chris Nagle
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Links Mentioned:\\xa0

Dr. Dick Miller\'s Legionella Recommendations (link to PDF)\\xa0

Submit a Show Idea\\xa0

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)\\xa0

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