by Shane Henson — July 6, 2011—ASHRAE has proposed a standard practice that specifies requirements to prevent legionellosis associated with building water systems, ASHRAE Standard 188P, Prevention of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems. The standard is currently open for public review until July 25.
The bacterium Legionella can lead to a very serious form of pneumonia, referred to as Legionnaires’ disease, or Pontiac fever, which is a less severe form of the disease. There are many thousands of cases every year in the United States. Essentially, all cases of legionellosis are the result of exposure to Legionella associated with building water systems, ASHRAE notes.
Standard 188P is intended to address the “what” of controlling the spread of legionellosis. The standard helps facilities managers/owners understand how to apply the available information on Legionella effectively in order to prevent cases of legionellosis associated with building water systems.
Compliance with the standard requires facilities managers/owners to formally take responsibility for controlling Legionella in their building water systems, while at the same time acts as a defense against accusations of negligence in those cases which are caused by the hazard from unknown sources. Standard 188P also covers the potable water system in buildings, which are not treated as often as cooling towers, and will hold facilities managers/owners accountable for properly managing the entire building water system, both potable and utility water.
The standard differs from ASHRAE Guideline 12, Minimizing the Risk of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems, in that while the guideline gives recommendations about how to treat various building water systems, the standard specifies the practice of exactly what must be done with all those recommendations.
