BiAqua

BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION

Bacterial Contamination is another risk which may also go undetected in a reverse osmosis process. It is frequently located in cooling towers & air conditioning. It introduces tastes and odor into the product water and it is medical hazard. Bacterial Contamination can have a disastrous impact on human beings even in low quantities. A form of Bacterial Contamination is Legionella, which could be very dangerous.

Bacterial Contamination is a worldwide problem. The first known outbreak was in Philadelphia (USA) in 1976, during a veterans convention, where more than 220 people were treated for symptoms and at least 34 people died. In the Netherlands an outbreak occurred during a flower exhibition in Bovenkarspel in March 1999, 200 people became ill and at least 32 people died. In July 2001 in Spain, world’s largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease happened, at least 16,000 people were exposed to the bacterium and 6 died. In the UK and other countries legionnelosis has had disastrous effects.

Bacterial growth in drinking water distribution systems is a global concern. Traditionally this is addressed by dosing chlorine. However, this not only leaves a bad taste, it also leads to the formation of carcinogenic compounds. Biofilms in distribution networks provide food for macro-organisms, but also accumulate pathogens that pass water treatment in small amounts. Release of these accumulated pathogens may lead to an acute outbreak of waterborne diseases.

The BiAqua solution has incredibly important implications for bacterial contamination as it eliminates phosphate, a chemical that acts as food for pathogens including Legionella.