Sessile microbiological communities or biofilms can pose problems in building water systems. For example, it has been suggested that Legionella pneumophila, the organism responsible for Legionnaires’ disease, proliferates in the biofilm environment. We report here the effectiveness of oxidizing biocides for the control of Legionella in well-established biofilms grown from native bacterial isolates. These studies were conducted in the laboratory using a 10-liter model water system. This work shows that control of Legionella is more difficult in the biofilm environment than in the planktonic environment. In general, biocides that are effective against biofilm bacteria are effective against biofilm-associated Legionella as well.

Subject
Bromine, BCDMH, Water, Dosages, Legionella, Oxidizing biocides, Biofilms, Efficacy, Bacteria, Biocides, Risk reduction, Cooling towers, Chlorides
Keywords:
Legionella pneumophila, Legionnaires’ disease, biofilm, heterotrophic bacteria, HPC, HBC, biocide, stabilized bromine, stabilized bromine chloride, sodium bromide
© 2001 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2001
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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