Quick Links
Newsletter
May 2020 
This Month's Meeting
May 19, 2020
12:00 PM MDT - 1:00 PM MDT
Webex Virtual Meeting
Webex login details provided after registation.
Main Presentation:
Isimet's Product Specialist, Pierre Deubelbeiss, will be presenting on Utility Safety Shut Down Systems for Labs, Schools, and Testing Facilities.
President's Report
I saw a tweet from Neil deGrasse Tyson with a joke that I want to share. “I want to live in a world where a Chicken can cross the road without anybody questioning its motives.” This seems to really hit my “Dad humor”.
With things on a start to getting better here in Utah, we need to still stay vigilant with social distancing and wearing facemasks in public. Even though the state health department is allowing groups up to 20, we’ll be having a virtual technical meeting this month. It’s a Webex meeting and the login details will be included with your registration confirmation from our Chapter website.
VP Legislative Article
I hope everyone is doing well and adjusting to the changes. Have you tried the Read, Learn, & Earn on ASPE.org? It is a helpful, free resource for ASPE members to earn CEU’s. My CPD recertification was due April 30 and I was on track to have the required hours of continuing education until the Pandemic hit and we had to cancel our chapter meetings. If you are in need of continuing education hours, it is available. Some manufacturers have educational resources that also provide ASPE endorsed CEU’s. There is also a list of plumbing related COVID-19 Preparedness resources that you may find helpful. Here is the link:
https://www.aspe.org/coronavirus-covid-19-preparedness-resources/
VP Membership Article
I hope everyone is doing well and that you are anxious to the next time we meet in person during one of our monthly technical meetings. As a warm up to this grandiose event we will be having a virtual technical meeting this month of May. I hope that you can make it and take advantage of this learning opportunity. It seems like we are slowly reopening our economy, toilet paper and other essential needs are back on the shelves and hopefully we will continue to successfully overcome this pandemic. As things continue to go back to “normal”, it is important to stay current with our CEU credits and continue to develop ourselves professionally.
Affiliate Liaison Article
Taken from the CDC: Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown or Reduced Operation
8 steps to minimize Legionella risk before your business or building reopens
- Develop a comprehensive water management program (WMP) for your water system and all devices that use water. Guidance to help with this process is available from CDC and others.
- Water Management Program Toolkit:
This toolkit is designed to help people understand which buildings and devices need a Legionella water management program to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ disease, what makes a good program, and how to develop it.
https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/wmp/toolkit/index.html - Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease: A Training on Legionella Water Management Programs (PreventLD Training):
Take this training from CDC and partners on creating a water management program to reduce risk of Legionnaires’ disease. PreventLD Training aligns with industry standards on managing risk of Legionella bacteria.
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/elearn/prevent-LD-training.html - Hotel Guidance:
Considerations for Hotel Owners and Managers: How to Prevent Legionnaires’ Disease
https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/wmp/hotel-owners-managers.html - Operating Public Hot Tubs/Spas for pool staff and owners:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/aquatics-professionals/operating-public-hot-tubs.html - Reduce Risk from Water: Plumbing to Patients:
Water management programs in healthcare facilities are an important way to help protect vulnerable patient populations as well as staff and visitors.
https://www.cdc.gov/hai/prevent/environment/water.html - Preventing Occupational Exposure to Legionella:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2019-131/default.html - Ensure your water heater is properly maintained and the temperature is correctly set.
- Determine if your manufacturer recommends draining the water heater after a prolonged period of disuse. Ensure that all maintenance activities are carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions or by professionals.
- Make sure that your water heater is set to at least 120°F.
- Higher temperatures can further reduce the risk of Legionella growth, but ensure that you take measures to prevent scalding if your water heater is set to >130°F.
- Flush your water system
- Flush hot and cold water through all points of use (e.g., showers, sink faucets)
- Flushing may need to occur in segments (e.g., floors, individual rooms) due to facility size and water pressure. The purpose of building flushing is to replace all water inside building piping with fresh water.
- Flush until the hot water reaches its maximum temperature.
- Care should be taken to minimize splashing and aerosol generation during flushing.
- Other water-using devices, such as ice machines, may require additional cleaning steps in addition to flushing, such as discarding old ice. Follow water-using device manufacturers’ instructions.
- Clean all decorative water features, such as fountains
- Be sure to follow any recommended manufacturer guidelines for cleaning.
- Ensure that decorative water features are free of visible slime or biofilm.
- After the water feature has been re-filled, measure disinfectant levels to ensure that the water is safe for use.
- Ensure hot tubs/spas are safe for use (edited for space and your reading. See link if you need more ) https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/hot-tub-disinfection.pdfpdf icon
- Ensure cooling towers are clean and well-maintained
- Ensure that cooling towers are maintained (including start-up and shut-down procedures) per manufacturer’s guidelines and industry best practices.
- Guidance on start-up and shut-down procedures from the Cooling Technology Institute (CT 159): https://cti.org/pub/cticode.phpexternal icon
- Ensure that the tower and basin are free of visible slime, debris, and biofilm before use.
- If the tower appears well-maintained, perform an online disinfection procedure.
- Guidance on disinfection procedures from the Cooling Technology Institute: http://www.cti.org/downloads/WTP-148.pdfpdf iconexternal icon
- Ensure safety equipment including fire sprinkler systems, eye wash stations, and safety showers are clean and well-maintained
- Regularly flush, clean, and disinfect these systems according to manufacturers’ specifications.
- Maintain your water system
- Consider contacting your local water utility to learn about any recent disruptions in the water supply. This could include working with the local water utility to ensure that standard checkpoints near the building or at the meter to the building have recently been checked or request that disinfectant residual entering the building meets expected standards.
- After your water system has returned to normal, ensure that the risk of Legionella growth is minimized by regularly checking water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, and disinfectant levels.
- Follow your water management program, document activities, and promptly intervene when unplanned program deviations arise.
May we all get back to (Normal) work soon
Scott
AYP Article
Happy May to everyone,
I hope you are all staying healthy, safe, and sane during quarantine. It’s hard to stay connected when everything is shut down. Because we as an ASPE chapter want to stay connected and move forward with life as normal, we will be having our monthly technical meeting online. The technical meeting will be on May 19 at 12:00. Bring lunch to your desk and log on. Registration and login information is available on the ASPE intermountain chapter website. We look forward to seeing you and staying connected in every way we can.
