Corroding copper and steel exposed to intermittently flowing tap water promote biofilm formation and growth of Legionella pneumophila

Water Research
Dick van der KooijRonald Italiaander

Abstract

The information about the impact of copper pipes on the growth of Legionella pneumophila in premise plumbing is controversial. For this reason, pipe segments of copper, stainless steel (SS), mild steel (MS), polyethylene, chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC) and glass (controls) were exposed to intermittently flowing (20 min stagnation time) nonchlorinated tap water of 37 °C or 16 °C (ambient temperature) during six months to study the impact of metals on biofilm formation and growth of L. pneumophila. Biofilm concentrations (BfC, measured as ATP) on copper were 3 (at 37 °C) to 6 (at 16 °C) times higher than on SS. The maximum colony counts of L. pneumophila on the materials tested at 37 °C showed a quadratic relationship with the associated BfCs, with highest values on copper and MS. The average Cu concentration on the glass control of copper (glass-copper) was more than two log units lower than the Fe concentration on glass-MS, suggesting that copper released less corrosion by-products than MS. The release of corrosion by-products with attached biomass from MS most likely enhanced biofilm formation on glass-MS. Cloning and 16S RNA gene sequence analysis of the predominating biofilm bacteria revealed that an uncultured Xanthob...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 17, 2020·Nanomaterials·Inês B GomesLúcia C Simões

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