ASHRAE will set up a balanced team of internationally recognized experts to work on an accelerated timeline to develop the standard.

Each October, Global Handwashing Day highlights the important relationship between handwashing with soap and water and staying healthy.

According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, "School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce COVID-19 Spread," ventilation improvements in K-12 schools are a cost-effective public health measure.

Throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022, Bradley conducted its survey several times to explore Americans’ handwashing habits, concerns about the coronavirus and flu and their use of public restrooms. 

There’s no doubt the plumbing industry has had a hyper-focus on Legionella and prevention over the past few years. Yet a simple search on Google reveals outbreaks in an Illinois prison, a Hawaiian hotel and in Riverside County, California — all within the past two months.

In my January 2022 column, I made a broad call for improved water intelligence to offer improved building occupant health. This is nothing new to the HVAC industry, with system monitoring and control extending far beyond the mechanical room and into the most remote areas of the building

You would expect water in a hospital to be safe. But, far too often, water in hospitals and other health care facilities can put patients at risk of severe illness or death.

My first encounter in dealing with combating Legionnaires’ disease through code regulations dates back to 1977. Older individuals will recall that the disease got its name after the outbreak in 1976 in Philadelphia at the American Legion Convention.

The annual Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley Corp. queried 1,035 American adults Jan. 10-21, 2022, about their handwashing habits, concerns about the coronavirus and flu and their use of public restrooms.