Press Releases at EMSL

Cinnaminson, NJ, September 30th, 2016  

As a result of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the Bronx, New York State and New York City passed regulations for registering cooling towers and monitoring those towers for Legionella contamination in July of 2016. As part of the regulation, New York State Department of Health Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NYSDOH ELAP) now requires that laboratories providing Legionella testing for facilities in New York State must pass their certification program. This is a separate and distinct program than the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation (CDC ELITE) Program. EMSL Analytical, Inc.’s corporate headquarters located in Cinnaminson, New Jersey has received its interim NYSDOH ELAP certification for Legionella analysis in the state of New York.

In addition, EMSL’s three New York testing laboratories located in Buffalo, Carle Place and Manhattan also maintain NYSDOH ELAP interim certification for Legionella testing. “We are proud that we have four testing laboratories earn interim certification for Legionella laboratory services in the state of New York,” said Diane Miskowski, MPH, National Legionella Program Manager at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “Due to the timing of the roll-out of the NYSDOH ELAP Legionella Program, there are no laboratories that have final certification yet. We will need to complete one more round of proficiency tests to receive our final certification. EMSL plans to have five NYSDOH Legionella certified laboratories serving the New York Legionella market by the beginning of this October.”

EMSL has been on the forefront of keeping up with new regulations and earning certifications necessary to assist in Legionella analytical services. With different requirements for the amount of time between sampling and testing, EMSL has multiple, accredited locations that can handle large projects following outbreaks throughout New York and New Jersey. Collectively, EMSL has 15 CDC ELITE proficient testing laboratories.

Along with Legionella culture testing, EMSL has the capabilities to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequence-based typing and whole genome sequencing for Legionella outbreak source identification. If you are interested in learning how the NYSDOH ELAP Legionella and the CDC ELITE lab programs differ, or the difference between culture and molecular testing, please call Diane Miskowski at (800) 220-3675 extension 2528.

EMSL now offers a Legionella Pocket Guide to provide information about the bacteria and sampling techniques. To request a free copy, please click here. For more information about EMSL’s Legionella testing capabilities, please visit www.LegionellaTesting.com. To view a complete list of EMSL’s laboratory locations, accreditations and capabilities, please visit www.EMSL.com. For more information about EMSL’s testing services, please email info@emsl.com or call 1-800-220-3675.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.

EMSL Analytical, Inc. is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of environmental, indoor air quality and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.