ASHRAE Takes Over Development of Building Water Management Standard

ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, has acquired facilitation of NSF Standard 444, Minimizing Risk of Disease and Injury Associated with Building Water Systems, from the global public health organization NSF International. ASHRAE plans to complete the standard development process and publish it as ASHRAE Standard 514.

The committee working to develop Standard 514 will coordinate with ASHRAE Standard Project Committee 188, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems, to ensure that there is no conflict or duplication between the two standards. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2018 establishes minimum legionellosis risk management requirements for building water systems and was the first industry standard in the U.S. to address Legionnaire’s disease prevention. According to ASHRAE’s press release, Standard 514 will build on Standard 188 and Standard 444, which covers the prevention of injury and disease from Legionella and other waterborne pathogens, chemicals, and physical hazards. ASHRAE President Sheila J. Hayter, PE, stated that Standard 514 will also address building water quality, the importance of managing safe, quality building water systems, and prevention strategies.

“We’re focused on getting the standard into the hands of people who can use it to prevent outbreaks of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens,” said Jessica Evans, NSF International’s director of standards.

More information about ASHRAE standards development is available on the society’s website.

Related: The article “The New Age of Legionella” in the June/July 2015 issue of The Synergist discusses the AIHA guidance document Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Legionella in Building Water Systems. A new article, “Performing Legionella Source Risk Assessments,” was just published in the April 2019 print Synergist and will soon be available in the digital edition of the magazine.