Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers

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COOLING TOWERS AND EVAPORATIVE CONDENSERS

Cooling towers

 

I f you own a cooling tower or evaporative condenser, located within LisburnCity Council area, you must register with us, as part of the Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994.

If you don't, we could take enforcement action against you.

Cooling towers and evaporative condensers are devices which cool substances down using a wet cooling system, instead of a dry cooling system. They are usually found in large manufacturing industries, as well as hospitals, chilled stores and warehouses and other premises where heat needs to be removed from a process or area.


Register a cooling tower or evaporative condenser online

There is no cost to register a cooling tower or evaporative condenser. You should also provide us with the name and contact details of whoever is responsible for the tower or condenser so we can contact them if there is an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease, or to arrange an inspection.

Register


Why do I have to register?

We register cooling towers and evaporative condensers because they can be a source of Legionnaires' Disease, a form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium.

This means your business or premises should also have a legionella control scheme and proper risk management procedures in place (including up-to-date risk assessments). You may consider hiring a water maintenance contractor to help you develop these procedures.
- Read more about the legionella guidance (L8) hse document

New installations

If you are thinking about installing a cooling tower or evaporative condenser on your premises, call us on 028 92509250

When deciding whether to install such a device on your premises, you should consider the maintenance costs, including a water maintenance programme, a cleansing and sampling regime and the risks associated with Legionnaires' Disease.

If you decide to go ahead and install a device, you should register with us as soon as possible.

 

LEGIONNELLA

Legionnaires' disease is a potentially fatal pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria. Legionella bacteria are widespread in the environment, and may contaminate and grow in water systems such as -

  • Hot and cold water systems
  • Spa pools
  • Cooling towers.

Infection is caused by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated by the bacteria. The disease cannot be passed from one person to another. Everyone is potentially susceptible to infection but some people are at higher risk e.g. the elderly or ill.

In the period, 1980 - 2006 there have been a total of 52 cases of Legionella In Northern Ireland with 4 deaths.

  • 18 (35%) acquired in NI
  • 1 acquired in GB
  • 33 (63%) acquired abroad
  • 2 community cluster (total 6 cases)
  • 4 deaths (case fatality rate 7.7%)

The Barrow on Furness outbreak in Cumbria during the summer of 2003 claimed seven lives and affected 150 people. Currently there are over 500 claims for compensation being processed by Barrow Council's insurance company. Initial estimates suggest that personal injury claims will exceed £20million.
Recent cases in Northern Ireland included 3 cases in Mallusk in March 2002 and a recent outbreak in Bangor.

Legionella has been identified as a priority area for action among district councils in Northern Ireland.

Duties under the law

In premises where there is a risk of legionella bacteria growing within a water system, there is a requirement under health and safety law, for duty holders to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment to identify the risks from legionella that may affect staff or members of the public. In practice this means that businesses have to:

  • Identify and assess sources of risk
  • Prepare a scheme (or course of action) for preventing or controlling the risk
  • Implement and manage the scheme (appointing a person to be managerially responsible, sometimes referred to as the 'responsible person')
  • Keep records and check that what has been done is effective

 

The relevant Legislation and Guidance includes: -

  • Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978
  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (NI) 2003 as amended
  • Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (NI) 2000
  • Approved Code of Practice entitled "Legionnaires' Disease The Control of Legionella Bacteria in Water Systems" L8 2000 2nd edition (ISBN 0 7176 1772 6)
  • INDG 376 Legionnaires' Disease: Essential Information for Providers of Residential Accommodation
  • - IAC (rev2) Legionnaires' Disease: A Guide for employers
  • - INDG 253 Controlling Legionella in Nursing and Residential Care Homes
  • INDG 368 Use of Contractors - a joint responsibility