Ref. : GRG/1/50A/3 Pt. 1 Electrical & Mechanical Services Department 98 Caroline Hill Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

10 July 2000

EMSD Technical Circular No. 3/2000 Guidelines for Prevention of Legionnaires Disease Purpose In line with the recent publication of the revised Code of Practice for the Prevention of Legionnaires disease, this circular serves to:(a) Ensure that all officers concerned are aware of the role of EMSD and the latest development in the prevention of Legionnaires disease. Adopt appropriate measures in handling the relevant design, operation and maintenance of engineering plants/equipment.

(b)

EMSD Technical Circular No. 1/90 is hereby superseded.

Background 2. The bacteria causing Legionnaires disease, like other kinds of bacteria, are wide spread in natural water sources and have been found in rivers, lakes, streams, mud and soil, as well as man-made water systems. Infection of the disease is caused by inhaling airborne droplets (i.e. aerosols) or particles in fine mist containing the bacteria into the lungs where they are deposited. The operation temperature of evaporative cooling tower is optimal to the growth of the bacteria while the spray cooling process in such cooling tower will easily lead to the dispersion of aerosols to the surroundings. Therefore, improperly designed and/or operated and maintained cooling towers have been one of the main causative agents of Legionnaires disease.

3. Following the outbreak of Legionnaires disease in the UK during 1985, the Prevention of Legionnaires Disease Committee (PLDC) was set up in Hong Kong. The Committee is chaired by EMSD and comprises representatives from various government departments/bureau and two local universities.

Current Development 4. Since March 1994, Legionnaires disease has been listed as a notifiable disease under the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 141). According to the Department of Health, there were 10 reported cases of Legionnaires disease in Hong Kong between 1994 and 1999, all of which were sporadic cases with no evidence of clustering. 5. Furthermore, the disease has been classified as a notifiable occupational disease since June 1999 under the Occupational Safety & Health Ordinance (Cap. 509) and the Employees Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282).

Code of Practice 6. In 1994, the PLDC published a Code of Practice for the Prevention of Legionnaires Disease (COP) to provide guidelines for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of air-conditioning and water systems, especially cooling towers and centralized hot water systems, for the effective control and prevention of the Legionnaires disease. 7. The revised COP was published in early 2000 and has been distributed to various professional bodies, contractors associations, hospitals, etc. This COP can also be downloaded from the EMSD homepage at http://www.info.gov.hk/emsd.

Guidelines 8. All officers concerned are requested to observe the following:-

(a)

New projects (i) The design precautions as stated in the COP shall be incorporated whenever practicable. For projects where the necessary modifications cannot be included at this stage, provision shall be allowed for possible future improvements.

(ii)

(b)

Existing Installations (i) The existing systems shall be modified as necessary to incorporate the operation and maintenance precautions as stated in the COP. In case alterations to existing systems are not practical at this stage, the necessary modification work shall be included in future overhaul and/or replacement programme as far as possible.

(ii)

(LEUNG Cham-tim) Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services

Distribution All Assistant Engineers & Above All Section Heads c.c. S for W SPL SEF AD/BS, Arch SD AD/E&M, DSD