TÜV Austria calls for register of cooling towers after Legionella deaths

TÜV Austria is calling for a central register of cooling towers after a Legionella outbreak in Linz killed three people, ORF reported. The organisation says such a register would allow authorities to respond more quickly to outbreaks. Vienna has many cooling towers, but no official list exists.

Open recooling systems that remove heat are used at district cooling centres, as well as on residential buildings, hospitals, hotels, nursing homes and large data centres. The exact number and locations of these systems in Vienna are not known.

A central register, such as the one in Germany, would make it possible to check the hygiene conditions of the systems and quickly narrow down potential sources during an outbreak, said Thomas Fleischanderl, head of environmental protection at TÜV Austria, in an interview with Radio Wien.

Wien Energie, one of Vienna’s major operators of open cooling towers, said its systems were monitored continuously and closely. In addition to regular technical inspections, hygiene checks were carried out to prevent Legionella from multiplying, a spokeswoman said. The company said it met the highest hygiene standards.

Vienna’s public health service, MA 15, told ORF that no cooling-tower-associated Legionella cases had been reported in the city in recent years.

Warm-water systems also pose a risk

According to TÜV Austria, recooling systems present the greatest risk because they can produce a large aerosol cloud that is easily dispersed by wind and can affect many people directly.

Fleischanderl also warned about the large number of drinking-water heating systems in buildings. He criticised Austria’s decision not to regulate Legionella and other bacteria in hot water through a central drinking-water regulation, as other European countries do. Instead, responsibility has been delegated to the provinces, where the rules are spread across various building regulations and are too vague, he said.

TÜV Austria urgently wants clearer rules and mandatory regular inspections. The organisation monitors about 5,000 buildings in Austria and its analyses do not produce reassuring results, Fleischanderl said.

Car washes can also potentially spread bacteria because their water temperatures are favourable for germs and the water is reused. This can result in relatively high levels of contamination, Fleischanderl said, adding that deaths had already occurred in Austria.