Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease Using IoT Technology During COVID‑19

Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease using IoT Technology during COVID-19 During late September 2020, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released a bulletin that warned premises newly opening or re-opening after Covid-19 related lockdowns would need to be assessed for Legionella risk, stating:

“If your building has been closed or had reduced occupancy during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, water system stagnation can occur due to lack of use, increasing the risks of Legionnaires’ disease.”

Though the world is rightly concerned about COVID-19 and facilities and property managers certainly have this contagion at the top of their agendas there, other health threats risk being forgotten. Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection caused by legionella bacteria; it can kill an estimated 10% of those who contract it through complications associated with the infection. Unlike COVID-19 which is airborne, legionella bacteria are commonly found in water.

The first reported outbreak of Legionnaires disease, caused by legionella, was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, in 1976. Since then, there have been annual cases across the country with the last significant occurrence in 2019 at a hot tub display event in North Carolina. The outbreak killed four event attendees and caused a total of 141 cases of the disease. Today, legionnaires is a global threat.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US has seen the number of cases of Legionellosis, which includes Legionnaires disease, increasing since 2000, with nearly 10,000 cases in the US in 2018 alone – so it’s definitely something that event and building managers need to be aware of. In the UK, the HSE along with Public Health England (PHE) is investigating a recent outbreak in West Bromwich where six people were hospitalized with suspected Legionnaires’ disease. The latest HSE bulletin highlighted that: “Recent cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Midlands are a powerful reminder that employers, the self-employed and people in control of premises (such as landlords) have a duty to identify and control risks associated with legionella.”

Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, particularly in public buildings, hospitals, apartment blocks, colleges and other such shared facilities and domiciles can usually be prevented. One method of prevention is the careful monitoring of water supply, particularly domestic hot water (DHW) distribution networks. Thanks to preventative measures often required of facilities management and enforced by regulations such as the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and organizations such as the HSE and the CDC the legionella bacteria is not commonly found. When it does appear, it is most often due to non-compliance with health regulations, the presence of "dead arms", a water tube where the water stagnates and this is where the Legionella will grow, and/or prolonged non-use of the system or part of the system.

The incubation period of Legionella is ten days in water between 20 and 45 degrees centigrade. Facilities managers and property owners are obligated to conduct Legionella risk assessments, monitor networks and changes to DHW systems and pipework, identify sampling points, and routinely test that minimum temperature requirements for storage and distribution (≥ 55°C) and loop return (≥ 50°C) for DHW are observed. The frequency of measurement and data recording varies depending on the purpose of the establishment. Healthcare organizations and premises, for example, are required to test more often, as are places of large-scale public gatherings.

How can IoT help prevent Legionnaires’ disease?

IoT connected temperature sensors, when installed on flow and return lines in hot water systems can monitor the status of pipework, an installation and an entire premise in real time. Alarms can be configured in smart monitored and IoT powered systems to instantly alert facilities managers to low, or risky, temperature levels and changes in temperature. IoT solutions not only monitor rooms for efficiency and space needs, but also occupant and worker safety. By using sensors to monitor conditions such as air quality and water temperature, building owners and office managers can quickly address problems as they arise. This monitoring can prevent sickness and severe harm.

Sensors that measure temperature and energy consumption, coupled with instantaneous notifications, mean that premises can be quickly made safe before visitors and residents arrive or return. This considerably reduces the risk of developing Legionella bacteria in domestic hot water networks. Property managers can make use of IoT enabled sensors and smart networks which give real time monitoring and all-important alerts via powerful software installed to multiple devices. Constantly on, sensors and networks do previously labour-intensive testing and measuring work, allowing managers to safely and effectively monitor multiple properties at once.

Monitoring water temperature using sensors eliminates the manual task of reading and recording temperature measurements and provides analysis of probable risks. This Legionella monitoring solution takes real-time readings of DHW pipe temperatures which feed into a dashboard that is accessed remotely. Not only does this example of IoT in action fighting the Legionella bacteria but also champions a proactive approach for facilities managers, it can also help them to exceed regulatory requirements.

Not only can IoT connected devices and powered networks monitor water temperatures, they can also measure humidity, energy consumption, gas or chemical levels, and even industrial environments. “Smart” buildings, where IoT devices monitor, measure, and inform, are both safer for residents and workers as well as being far more cost-efficient for building managers and owners.

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Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease using IoT Technology during COVID-19