Blaby District Council

Summary

All premises where cooling towers and evaporative condensers are situated must register with the local authority under The Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations 1992.

Further information

Owners of premises using cooling towers and/or evaporative condensers must register this equipment with Blaby District Council under The Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations 1992. Such equipment may be found in some engineering works and 'wet' air conditioning systems.

Notification enables environmental health officers to carry out proactive inspections and provide vital information before an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease occurs. In order to ensure that the register of evaporative condensers and cooling towers contains up-to-date information you should complete the following notification form if any of the above applies to your installation.

Legionnaires Disease

Bacteria that belong to the family Legionellaceae are responsible for outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease, resulting in serious cases of infection and fatalities. A severe cough can be the first sign of a lung infection. Many patients have nausea, vomiting, and stomach discomfort. Other common symptoms include headaches, muscle aches, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

Legionella organisms are natural inhabitants of water and can be detected in rivers, lakes, and streams. They reproduce to high numbers in warm, stagnant water, such as that found in certain plumbing systems and hot water tanks, cooling towers and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems, and whirlpool spas.

The organisms can survive in a wide range of conditions, including temperatures of 0 to 63 °C. They can colonise and attach themselves to various materials found in water systems including plastics, rubber, and wood. This is more likely if tank temperatures are between 40 and 50 °C.

Cooling towers

Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers are usually located on rooftops, creating the potential for infecting large numbers of people due to the generation of fine water droplets and their transport by air current.

Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers need to be well designed, maintained and operated. Systems should be cleaned and disinfected at least every six months. Water should be treated to prevent scale, corrosion and microbiological growth and where reasonably practicable, cooling towers should be replaced with dry cooling systems to reduce the escape of spray.

Contact us

Officer / Team	Commercial Environmental Health Team
Postal address	Blaby District Council Council Offices Desford Road Narborough Leicester LE19 2EP
E-mail address	environmental.health@blaby.gov.uk
Telephone	0116 272 7555
Fax	0116 272 7594

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This page was last updated on 16th June 2009