5 Important Key Tips For Cooling Tower Safety

Cooling towers are key to industrial processes. Their main role is to dissipate excess heat from equipment that is being used. While they do serve an excellent purpose, there’s always going to be downsides.

One that is considered major is poor management and maintenance. It can pose a safety and health hazard - especially those in a nearby area where the industrialized facilities are based. Cooling towers can emit harmful elements into the atmosphere that can spread for miles, causing respiratory illnesses and diseases such as Legionella - a serious condition that can be life-threatening.

This guide will cover five important key tips for cooling tower safety. Let’s begin with the list down below.

1. Personnel should undergo training and education

While generating awareness about cooling tower safety is one thing, taking action is another. It can be done by training and educating the proper personnel. This includes workers understanding the potential hazards that cooling towers can create.

Likewise, they should be able to learn the necessary safety procedures to keep the risks minimal. An example of such training programs and the topics that they cover should include properly identifying potential hazards, deciding on emergency procedures, and proper use and disposal of personal protective equipment (or PPE). 

Knowledge and compliance of safety guidelines will also be important. Please note that such guidelines and regulations may be modified or new ones may be created. As such, it is important to make sure personnel should take the necessary training to keep themselves up-to-date with what they need to comply with in order for an industrial company to prevent potential legal action due to non-compliance.

Continuous education and regular training will ensure a competent and well-versed knowledge of cooling tower safety. Especially when it is the priority to protect the health and safety of the nearby population.

2. Put robust safety procedures in place

By law or regulation, these should be put together in the first place. Nevertheless, you want to make sure you establish such clear guidelines that cover routine maintenance, inspections, and emergency situations. Maintenance and inspections done on a regular basis will catch issues in the early stages.

When this happens, you can easily manage such concerns. You also will be saving plenty of money that would otherwise go to extensive repairs that can take a lengthy period of time while costing you a near fortune. Furthermore, you’ll also be protecting the health and safety of your employees and residents of nearby areas.

Since emergency situations happen at any given time, preparedness is key. That’s why emergency response drills should be planned and rehearsed on a regular basis. This will help personnel and management work together to execute on the proper procedures if the real thing happens.

At the same time, it will also provide them with a glance of the strengths and weaknesses of the emergency response plan. From there, any weaknesses that may exist will need to be rectified by way of innovative solutions. One weakness in an emergency response plan can make things worse at the snap of a finger.

The ideal framework of emergency procedures should cover the bases in terms of potential issues that may occur. These issues include leaks, malfunctions, and other events that are unforeseen. In addition, each emergency procedure should be able to cover the response actions, evacuation plans, and communication procedures.

Knowing what to do and who to contact in an emergency situation will be paramount. If everything is in working order, you’ll feel confident knowing that you’ll be ready for the unexpected.

3. Perform regular maintenance and inspections

Being proactive with maintenance and inspections will be key. You’ll want to regularly inspect the components of a cooling tower. This includes the fans, motors, fill material, and drift eliminators.

Look out for any wear or tear, corrosion, or any issues that could compromise the efficiency and safety of a cooling tower. Schedule a maintenance schedule that will allow you to perform such inspection and necessary repairs to ensure that the cooling tower’s lifespan is extended. The more maintenance and inspections are performed, the less likely sudden failures and malfunctions will occur.

4. Take Legionella risks seriously

Legionella bacteria can thrive in cooling towers. It can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a severe respiratory disease that can be life-threatening. As such, the risks need to be taken seriously.

One of the ways to mitigate the risk is by way of implementing measures pertaining to water treatment. In addition, cleaning and disinfecting the cooling tower components on a regular basis will be key. Water temperature control and monitoring will also be important so that there is no growth and spread of Legionella bacteria.

Consider installing drift eliminators and proper ventilation systems so contaminated water droplets don’t get released into the surrounding environment.

5. Use advanced monitoring technologies

Even in today’s digital age, it’s possible to utilize advanced monitoring technology for the purpose of cooling tower safety. That’s why you’ll want to invest in systems that consist of various sensors, monitoring systems with real-time data that covers water quality, temperature, pressure, and performance of equipment.

You can also add automated elements to your monitoring system to make it easier for early detection. This will allow the proper personnel to intervene and fix the issue before they get worse. Technology and people can work together in an effort to make sure cooling towers are safe to use for the long term.

Let PermuTrade consult you on water treatment

As part of the process, water treatment can be useful for cooling tower safety. That’s why PermuTrade has experts that will give you an assessment on how to approach it for your industrial company’s cooling towers. You want to be sure that every cooling tower on your property is safe to use.

Be sure to follow the key tips we have just listed above. Especially the tips that cover maintenance, repairs, and regular emergency response drills. For more information on how PermuTrade can help with water treatment, contact us today.