Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city

BackgroundThe detection rates of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water in various cities are relatively high, while studies investigating the trends of Legionella pneumophila pollution and analyzing its influencing factors are still limited. ObjectiveTo investigate the status of Legion...

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Main Authors: Rong PENG, Bin SHI, Huaiji WANG, Junling LIU, Fang WANG
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Editorial Committee of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024-12-01
Series:环境与职业医学
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Online Access:http://www.jeom.org/article/cn/10.11836/JEOM24246
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author Rong PENG
Bin SHI
Huaiji WANG
Junling LIU
Fang WANG
author_facet Rong PENG
Bin SHI
Huaiji WANG
Junling LIU
Fang WANG
author_sort Rong PENG
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe detection rates of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water in various cities are relatively high, while studies investigating the trends of Legionella pneumophila pollution and analyzing its influencing factors are still limited. ObjectiveTo investigate the status of Legionella pneumophila contamination in the water of metro cooling towers in a city, to analyze its influencing factors, and to provide a basis for preventing and controlling Legionella pneumophila contamination in metro cooling tower water. MethodsAfter categorizing the metro lines into three groups (>10 years, >5-10 years, and ≤5 years) according to the operating years of each metro line in a city, we randomly selected one line from each group and the selection resulted a total of 58 cooling towers. We collected water samples from the cooling towers during the early, middle, and late stages of cooling tower operation to detect Legionella pneumophila and water quality related indicators. Information on the environment and hygiene management measures of the cooling towers was obtained through on-site investigation and questionnaire survey. Generalized mixed linear models were used to analyze the influencing factors of Legionella pneumophila contamination in cooling tower water. ResultsThe detection rates of Legionella pneumophila in the early, middle, and late stages of cooling tower operation were 25.9%, 77.6%, and 81.0%, respectively. The detection rates in the middle and late stages of operation were significantly higher than that in the early stage (P<0.001). The results of generalized mixed linear regression showed that the total dissolved solids and conductivity were positively associated with positive Legionella pneumophila. For each unit increase in ln-transformed total dissolved solids and conductivity, their ORs (95%CIs) were 3.73 (1.19, 11.69) and 3.62 (1.07, 12.25), respectively. Nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine were negatively associated with positive Legionella pneumophila. For each unit increase in ln-transformed nitrates and sulfates, their ORs (95%CIs) were 0.52 (0.34, 0.80) and 0.54 (0.36, 0.81), respectively. Compared with the group with 0-0.04 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine, the ORs (95%CIs) for the groups with 0.05-0.30 mg·L−1 and ≥0.31 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine were 0.22 (0.07, 0.74) and 0.01 (0.01, 0.19), respectively. Nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine were negatively associated with the concentration of Legionella pneumophila. For each unit increase in ln-transformed nitrates and sulfates, the βs (95%CIs) of Legionella pneumophila concentration were −1.17 (−1.59, −0.74) and −1.11 (−1.63, −0.58), respectively. Compared with the group with 0-0.04 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine, the β (95%CI) was −5.66 (−9.45, −1.87) for the group with ≥0.31 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine. ConclusionThe metro cooling tower water in the selected city is seriously contaminated by Legionella pneumophila, and getting further aggravated as the cooling tower annual operation time increases. Total dissolved solids, conductivity, nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine are the major influencing factors for positive Legionella pneumophila, and nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine are the major influencing factors for the concentration of Legionella pneumophila.
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spelling doaj-art-f7f47e3866cf472ca167745914784fd52025-01-09T05:41:12ZengEditorial Committee of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine环境与职业医学2095-99822024-12-0141121414142110.11836/JEOM2424624246Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a cityRong PENG0Bin SHI1Huaiji WANG2Junling LIU3Fang WANG4Wuhan Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, Hubei 430024, ChinaWuhan Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, Hubei 430024, ChinaWuhan Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, Hubei 430024, ChinaWuhan Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, Hubei 430024, ChinaWuhan Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, Hubei 430024, ChinaBackgroundThe detection rates of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water in various cities are relatively high, while studies investigating the trends of Legionella pneumophila pollution and analyzing its influencing factors are still limited. ObjectiveTo investigate the status of Legionella pneumophila contamination in the water of metro cooling towers in a city, to analyze its influencing factors, and to provide a basis for preventing and controlling Legionella pneumophila contamination in metro cooling tower water. MethodsAfter categorizing the metro lines into three groups (>10 years, >5-10 years, and ≤5 years) according to the operating years of each metro line in a city, we randomly selected one line from each group and the selection resulted a total of 58 cooling towers. We collected water samples from the cooling towers during the early, middle, and late stages of cooling tower operation to detect Legionella pneumophila and water quality related indicators. Information on the environment and hygiene management measures of the cooling towers was obtained through on-site investigation and questionnaire survey. Generalized mixed linear models were used to analyze the influencing factors of Legionella pneumophila contamination in cooling tower water. ResultsThe detection rates of Legionella pneumophila in the early, middle, and late stages of cooling tower operation were 25.9%, 77.6%, and 81.0%, respectively. The detection rates in the middle and late stages of operation were significantly higher than that in the early stage (P<0.001). The results of generalized mixed linear regression showed that the total dissolved solids and conductivity were positively associated with positive Legionella pneumophila. For each unit increase in ln-transformed total dissolved solids and conductivity, their ORs (95%CIs) were 3.73 (1.19, 11.69) and 3.62 (1.07, 12.25), respectively. Nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine were negatively associated with positive Legionella pneumophila. For each unit increase in ln-transformed nitrates and sulfates, their ORs (95%CIs) were 0.52 (0.34, 0.80) and 0.54 (0.36, 0.81), respectively. Compared with the group with 0-0.04 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine, the ORs (95%CIs) for the groups with 0.05-0.30 mg·L−1 and ≥0.31 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine were 0.22 (0.07, 0.74) and 0.01 (0.01, 0.19), respectively. Nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine were negatively associated with the concentration of Legionella pneumophila. For each unit increase in ln-transformed nitrates and sulfates, the βs (95%CIs) of Legionella pneumophila concentration were −1.17 (−1.59, −0.74) and −1.11 (−1.63, −0.58), respectively. Compared with the group with 0-0.04 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine, the β (95%CI) was −5.66 (−9.45, −1.87) for the group with ≥0.31 mg·L−1 of free residual chlorine. ConclusionThe metro cooling tower water in the selected city is seriously contaminated by Legionella pneumophila, and getting further aggravated as the cooling tower annual operation time increases. Total dissolved solids, conductivity, nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine are the major influencing factors for positive Legionella pneumophila, and nitrates, sulfates, and free residual chlorine are the major influencing factors for the concentration of Legionella pneumophila.http://www.jeom.org/article/cn/10.11836/JEOM24246metrocooling towerlegionella pneumophilainfluencing factor
spellingShingle Rong PENG
Bin SHI
Huaiji WANG
Junling LIU
Fang WANG
Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
环境与职业医学
metro
cooling tower
legionella pneumophila
influencing factor
title Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
title_full Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
title_fullStr Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
title_full_unstemmed Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
title_short Contamination of Legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
title_sort contamination of legionella pneumophila in metro cooling tower water and its influencing factors in a city
topic metro
cooling tower
legionella pneumophila
influencing factor
url http://www.jeom.org/article/cn/10.11836/JEOM24246
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AT huaijiwang contaminationoflegionellapneumophilainmetrocoolingtowerwateranditsinfluencingfactorsinacity
AT junlingliu contaminationoflegionellapneumophilainmetrocoolingtowerwateranditsinfluencingfactorsinacity
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