Press Releases at EMSL

New York, NY, October 7th, 2016

As of July 2016, New York State and New York City passed regulations for registering cooling towers and monitoring those towers for Legionella. The New York State Department of Health Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NYSDOH ELAP) announced that laboratories providing Legionella testing for facilities in New York State are required to 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. This regulation is the result of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that occurred in the Bronx, New York back in August of 2015. EMSL Analytical, Inc.’s New York City laboratory has received its interim NYSDOH ELAP certification for Legionella analysis in the state of New York.

In addition to New York City, EMSL has additional testing laboratories located in Carle Place, NY Buffalo, NY and Cinnaminson, NJ that also maintain NYSDOH ELAP interim certification for Legionella analysis. “We are proud of our laboratories that have earned an interim certification for Legionella testing in the state of New York,” said Diane Miskowski, MPH, National Legionella Program Manager at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “EMSL continuously works towards understanding new regulations and earning certifications necessary to provide high-quality Legionella analytical services. Some challenges arise when there are time constraints between sampling and testing, however, EMSL has multiple locations that can help handle large projects from outbreaks in these states.”

Due to the timing of the roll-out of the NYSDOH ELAP Legionella Program, there are no laboratories that have final certification yet. EMSL plans to have five NYSDOH Legionella certified laboratories serving the New York Legionella market by the beginning of this October. Along with NYSDOH ELAP certifications, EMSL has 15 CDC ELITE proficient testing laboratories throughout the United States and Canada.

On top of Legionella testing, EMSL offers 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 and the CDC ELITE Legionella programs differ, or the difference between culture and molecular testing, please call Diane Miskowski at 1-800-220-3675 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.