Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
Initially, water treatment is used to clean many water-based industrial and commercial processes, like heating, cooling, processing, and rinsing. However, poor water treatment interacts with vessels and pipes which can be harmful.
Steam boilers can scale up or corrode over time, and these deposits mean increasing fuel pressure is needed to heat the water. Cooling towers can also corrode and scale up, but when untreated will become hazardous. The warm, dirty water will increase the rate of bacteria development, leading to dangerous developments, like Legionnaires disease which can have fatal consequences.
However, there are many industrial water treatment services available to overcome this problem. Water treatment is crucial, as it will improve the quality of the water. Products containing water, like drinks and pharmaceuticals must have their quality of water to the correct standard or it can lead to faulty products. In certain cases, wastewater from one method can be appropriate, if used again in another process and given appropriate treatment.
This can also lower the costs of water consumption and reduce the costs of waste disposal. This is due to decreased volume and lower energy costs from the heat used in recycled wastewater.
What is water hygiene?
Water sanitation is the process of cleaning and purifying water so that it’s safe for human consumption.
Safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation are important elements of human health. Safe and clean water is not only a requirement for health but also contributes to livelihoods, school attendance and dignity, to help create a resilient community, living in good health.
Drinking unsafe water can lead to a host of illnesses, including diarrhoea, Legionnaires disease and untreated excreta contamination. It can also lead to pollution of groundwaters with chemicals that are harmful to human consumption or bathing.
Every year 829,000 people die from drinking unsafe water. Therefore, water hygiene is essential; with good hygiene, many lives can be saved.
What is Legionnaires disease?
Legionnaires’ disease is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that can be caused by exposure to legionella bacteria. The bacteria poses the risk of also other conditions, such as Lochgoilhead Fever and Pontiac fever.
Legionnaires’ disease is an infection that can lead to a fatal form of pneumonia, and most people are more susceptible.
However, some people are more susceptible than others:
· People who have a weakened immune system
· Suffering from diabetes, lung disease or heart disease
· People suffering from chronic respiratory or kidney disease
· Smokers or heavy drinkers
· People over 45
Where does it come from?
Legionella bacteria is common in natural water systems, like rivers and ponds. However, the conditions for catching this disease from these sources are rare because people don’t often engage with them at high enough doses to cause an outbreak of infection.
Legionella is a bacterium that can grow in warmer water. The most common places for this to happen are cooling towers, evaporative condensers, and hot-water systems but it could also come from spas used on all sorts of premises (work or domestic).
How can you get it?
· Inhaling small droplets, known as aerosols
· The water temperature is between 20 – 45 degrees, which is a suitable temperature for growth
· Some deposits can sustain bacterial growth offering a source of nutrients for the organism to spread like rust, sludge, biofilms, and organic matter
· Water is being re-circulated or stored
Legionella Risk Assessment
Under the Health and Safety Work Act 1974 and in compliance with the Approved Code of Practice, all employers, landlords, or premises managers must complete a Legionella Risk Assessment as a legal requirement.
This assessment is aimed at duty holders, employers, and those in control of the premises, to assure all employees are properly looked after. These assessments must be carried out by licenced professionals and can last from thirty minutes to six or seven hours.
