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Legionella Consulting - Legionella

Legionella Consulting

Legionella research since 1978.

How We Operate:

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  • After 42-years of service, GTS Legionella Testing Service has closed.
  • Since establishing our legionella water testing service in 1981 with CDC referred clients, we have tested thousands of samples from water-containing mechanical equipment & plumbing lines.
    Contact us for Legionella consulting.

Why Test for Legionella?

  • Legionella testing validates whether your legionella control procedures are working.
  • National Academies of Science: Management of Legionella in Water Systems is the best non-biased source of scientific facts on testing, in my opinion.
    There are no federal regulations specifying permissible numbers of legionella in water systems. There are numerous legionella guidelines (a.k.a. standards) in the United States: AIHA, APIC, ASHRAE, AWT, CDC, CMS, CTI, EPA, NSF, OSHA, & VA.
  • When significant numbers of legionella are found in a water sample, we suggest decontamination using industry-standard procedures.

Why We Don’t Recommend Culture Method:

  • Water samples cultured on BCYE agar media often produce no Legionella colonies, even when they are present, because the legionella colonies are either overgrown or inhibited by competing microbial flora in the water samples. This is particularly true for water samples taken from warm water-containing mechanical equipment exposed to the environment such as fountains, cooling towers, & spas.
  • National Academies – Management of Legionella in Water Systems (2019)
    According to NAS: “Culture techniques may underestimate the true Legionella risk….”
    Legionella Risk Management for Safety Professionals:
  • The slides from my January 2020 Legionella Webinar presented at a joint meeting of the Chesapeake Area Biological Safety Association and the Potomac Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association are available. Topics included: Legionnaires’ disease description; The 1976 Philadelphia outbreak; Legionella bacterial physiology & diagnostic methods; Transmission sources; 2019 Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks; Risk reduction procedures; & Decontamination methods.