Main Stage: Assessing Legionella & Other Waterborne Pathogens — Principles & Practices for IHs

Kansas City Convention Center 

This presentation will cover how AIHA and the IEQ Committee have built the foundation of knowledge, practice, and competency for practitioners entering this challenging field. The Principles of Good Practice (PGP) for Assessing Legionella and Other Waterborne Pathogens is directed at preventing illness and disease in workers and members of the community from aerosol exposures to waterborne pathogens in water sources and systems controlled or managed in the workplace. In order to reverse the climbing rates of disease caused by waterborne pathogens, including Legionella will only be achieved by Competent Professionals and Technicians, collectively referred to as "Practitioners." Collectively, their responsibility is to recognize, assess, and manage building water systems for risk factors, and to monitor (i.e. sampling) them for early signs of colonization and amplification by pathogenic organisms, including but not limited to Legionella species, Pseudomonas species, and non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM). The Technical Framework on Legionella published in 2020 describes the knowledge, skills, and abilities that technicians and professionals should have when performing waterborne pathogen and Legionella source assessments. Along with the AIHA Guidelines on Legionella 2nd Edition published in 2022, the Principles of Good Practice (to be published in 2025), and the Technical Framework (2020) form the cornerstones of the foundation that AIHA will offer critical training and education for Industrial Hygienists and other health and safety professionals challenged with finding and controlling waterborne pathogens.

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

• Identify the three essential AIHA publications supporting Industrial Hygienists who perform waterborne pathogen assessments and control. (AIHA Guideline, Technical Framework, and PGP) 

Introductory

Consulting

All Industries

Healthcare/Pharma

Insurance

Aerosols & Airborne Particulates

Biosafety/Microbiology

Health Care