Ultraviolet Water Treatment Emerges As Way To Fight Cryptosporidium
New York has a new water safety regulation. It’s found in Section 6-3.11 and says: “Ultraviolet light disinfection is required in addition to approved Chemical disinfectant.”
A company in Northwest England ---atg UV Technology—tells how that new NY regulation came about:
Following major outbreaks in Northampton, Galway, Utah and New York, Cryptosporidium has become a major concern for the leisure industry. Commonly found in lakes and rivers,
waterborne pathogen Cryptosporidium, has a thick outer shell, making it highly resistant to traditional methods of chemical disinfection such as chlorine, vastly increasing the risk of infection and illness, that can often prove fatal in the young, elderly and the immunocompromised.
Due to the resistant nature of Cryptosporidium and the scale of health problems caused, the need for increased protection is now at the top of the agenda. With traditional methods failing to provide adequate protection, atg UVs' range of technologically advanced water treatment systems are the obvious choice for water treatment engineers committed to resolving this threat.
So large was the scale of the problem in New York, approximately 4,000 patrons of an aquatic facility became infected with Cryptosporidium and consequently took out legal action. The New York Department of Health was forced to re-think their entire water treatment strategy. Calling upon their experience in the drinking water industry to find a solution to the growing threat, they concluded that the risk of an outbreak could be greatly reduced by the use of “Ultraviolet treatment systems.”
Working closely with atg UV, the New York Department of Health invested in a range of state-of-the-art UV treatment systems to safeguard public health. Additionally, atg UV biodose tested a number of UV systems, gaining regulatory approval for their effectiveness against Cryptosporidium and other waterborne pathogens. Ultimately the inclusion of UV treatment systems is now firmly entrenched within New York’s water safety legislation for a range of leisure facilities.
And that's how UV treatment came to America!