Using ATP To Reduce Risks From Legionella In Cooling Towers

A semiconductor manufacturing facility in France relies on an extensive cooling system to maintain stable conditions throughout their production facilities. The cooling system includes 19 cooling towers and 14 cooling water networks spread over a 135-acre site.

In order to prevent outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease, France’s regulations require cooling tower operators to maintain Legionella pneumophila concentrations below 1,000 CFU/L. If concentrations are between 1,000 and 100,000 CFU/L, the facility must implement corrective actions and review their risk analysis. If concentrations exceed 100,000 CFU/L, then a cooling system must be shut down until levels return below 1,000 CFU/L. For this manufacturer, an exceedance would result in a costly shut down of the production process, which could last for several days.