Safety and Health

Safety and Health

Elka Air strives to make its systems as safe as possible. However, we consider it our duty to inform you of any risks associated with the use of open water.

Bacteria and viruses can be present in water. The most famous example of this is, of course, legionella. From inhaling fog and/or mist from water that is contaminated with Legionella the chances are high that the person encountering the fog and/or mist with get sick. How sick we get depends on many factors. Our health and age play a major role in this. In addition, it depends on which form/levels of Legionella is inhaled.

There are more than 50 different types of Legionella. So there is a distinction made between Legionella Pneumophila and non Pneumophila. It is believed that humans could fully recover from an infection with non Pneumophila. Legionella Pneumophila is the more dangerous variety according to recorded research at this time. This variant can then be divided into 14 types. Where Serotypes 2 to 14 are considered serious pathogens, but Serotype 1 is the most dangerous variant. The majority of victims that have been infected with Legionella appear to be infected with the SG1 variant of this bacterium.

According to the Working Conditions Act and the duty of care, the owner / manager of a misting installation must have a conclusive RIE and a legionella management plan. This also applies to non-priority institutions. These documents you can create yourself and leave keys by a competent authority or outsource to an expert. Guidelines for this can be found in, among others, Labor Information Sheet AI-32 and ISSO 55.3.

In order to avoid the risks, the humidifiers of Elka Air are always provided with the following legionella-reducing measures:

Equipped with water standstill monitoring

Only cold drinking water is used

No dead-lines (water lines that hold still standing water for longer periods of time)
are included in the systems

In addition, we always advise to place a gatekeeper.

In addition, we always advise to place a gatekeeper. A gatekeeper kills or filters the water before using it by the humidifier. Depending on the situation, you can choose between UV-C bactericidal, Ultrafiltration or Reversed Osmosis filtration.

Download here an example of a RIE and Management plan

Contact us for more information

Our experts are happy to think along with you and help you on your way to creating a reliable and safe system.