HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE CHOOSE SOLID CHEMISTRY WATER TREATMENT FOR SAFE FACILITIES
Hospitals & Healthcare Groups Focused on Safety & Sustainability Adopt Solid Chemistry Water Treatment Technology as Best Practice
Healthcare facilities are increasingly adopting solid chemistry water treatment to improve safety, sustainability, and compliance while easing budget and staffing pressures. Solids reduce spill risk, chemical exposure, and storage constraints, and enable safer handling with automated, high-performance dosing that avoids hazardous additives. A Southeastern U.S. hospital case study shows solids and dissolver technology replaced liquid drums, improved corrosion and biofouling control, and eliminated manual feed challenges in tight spaces. This approach supports green building goals and aligns with Practice Greenhealth initiatives for healthier, more efficient hospitals.
Industry Pressures and Sustainability Initiatives
The healthcare industry faces pressure on every front. Healthcare facility engineers face budget and manpower reductions while at the same time facing increased regulations by the Joint Commission, DOH, AIA, OSHA, CDC, ASHE and the ASHRAE Standard 188P. Environmentally focused organizations such as Practice Greenhealth encourage hospitals and other healthcare facilities to focus on sustainability initiatives throughout their supply chain and in everyday practice. 1 in 3 hospitals are a part of the Practice Greenhealth Network and actively support sustainability initiatives at their facilities.
Expert Perspectives on Green Healthcare
According to Rick Fedrizzi, former President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council, “The healthcare industry is by far one of the more important sectors that can benefit from the practice of green building design and construction. Patients in green hospitals have greater emotional well-being, require less pain medication and other drugs, and have shorter hospital stays.”
Green building professional, Adele Houghton, stated, “Green hospitals seek to reduce use of and exposure to toxic chemicals and provide a healthier healing environment. By employing green practices, whether incrementally or from the ground up, many hospitals are managing to lower energy bills, reduce waste and achieve healthier indoor air quality.” (GreenBiz.com)
Why Solid Chemistry for Healthcare Water Treatment
AP Tech’s solid chemistry for water treatment (for cooling towers, condensers, boilers, & closed loop systems) is the perfect solution for healthcare facility management teams who are focused on improving sustainability and safety. Hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities have already chosen solid chemistry to help sustainability efforts and eliminate potential dangers that liquid chemistry imposes. What are you waiting for?
Advantages of Solid Chemistry
- Eliminate the risk of discharging hazardous liquid chemicals into the environment during shipping, application or storage.
- Eliminate chemical exposure to visitors. There is no risk of spilling hazardous chemicals when carrying solid product through crowded waiting rooms or on elevators.
- Improve operator safety by reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals.
- Eliminate storage constraints and create an obstruction-free facility room with solid chemistry. Simply place 44 lb cases of chemistry on a shelf versus trying to store large 500-pound drums on the floor, which require spill containment and cleanup supplies.
- If access to the system requires a ladder (which is often the case), solid chemistry can be placed in a backpack resulting in a safer climb compared to handling 40-gallon pails of hazardous, sloshing liquid chemical.
- Solid chemistry, by nature, increases safety by delivering high-performing chemistry containing only highly concentrated actives. During the manufacturing process, the proven formulas are solidified without the requirement of dangerous additives (such as NaOH) that traditional liquid treatment needs to stay in solution.
Water Treatment Challenge:
A healthcare facility in the Southeastern U.S. used liquid chemicals in their four cooling towers. Due to limited space around the cooling towers there was great difficulty moving large drums of liquid product to the point of use.
The cooling towers had to be hand-fed several times a week due to the space constraints as well as lack of proper feed and control equipment. Furthermore, the cooling towers were not being properly treated for corrosion and microbiological fouling. The facility wanted to replace their problematic program with one that eliminated heavy drums and provided a feed system that would fit within their limited space.
Solving the Water Treatment Challenge with Solids:
AP Tech’s solid chemistry and dissolver technology along with automated controllers were installed for each cooling tower and have provided the proven results of a liquid program while allowing the facility to eliminate several challenges and safety hazards.
The new solids program is simple to use:
- Reduced splash and spill concerns
- Eliminated drum handling, storage, and disposal
- Provided automated feed for a corrosion inhibitor, oxidizing biocide, and non-oxidizing biocide to enable proper treatment
Solids proved to be an innovative technology that solved a space and storage issue for a hard to reach locations while improving upon the overall water treatment program results.
Q&A
What is solid chemistry water treatment, and where can it be used?
Short answer: It’s a water treatment approach that uses highly concentrated chemicals in solid form, which are dissolved on demand with a dissolver to create feed solutions. In healthcare, it’s used for cooling towers, condensers, boilers, and closed loop systems, delivering the performance of traditional liquid programs while simplifying handling, storage, and dosing.
Why are hospitals adopting solid chemistry instead of liquids?
Short answer: Solid chemistry reduces spill risk, chemical exposure, and storage constraints—key concerns in hospitals with tight spaces and public areas. It supports automated, high-performance dosing without hazardous additives often needed in liquids, easing budget and staffing pressures. It also aligns with safety and sustainability priorities encouraged by organizations and standards relevant to healthcare (e.g., Joint Commission, DOH, OSHA, CDC, ASHE, ASHRAE 188P) and with Practice Greenhealth initiatives.
What safety and operational advantages do solids provide day-to-day?
Short answer: Advantages include: eliminating risk of discharging hazardous liquids during shipping, application, or storage; reducing exposure to staff and visitors (no sloshing drums through crowded areas); compact storage (44 lb cases on shelves vs. 500-pound drums on the floor with spill containment); safer access in hard-to-reach areas (solids can be backpack-carried up ladders); fewer splash/spill concerns; and high-performing chemistry without dangerous additives like NaOH that liquid treatments need to stay in solution.
What changed in the Southeastern U.S. hospital case study?
Short answer: The facility replaced bulky liquid drums and manual hand-feeding with AP Tech’s solid chemistry, dissolver technology, and automated controllers for each cooling tower. This eliminated drum handling, storage, and disposal; reduced splash/spill concerns; enabled automated feed of a corrosion inhibitor plus oxidizing and non-oxidizing biocides; fit within tight spaces; and improved control of corrosion and microbiological fouling.
How does this approach support green building and sustainability goals in healthcare?
Short answer: By reducing the use and exposure to hazardous chemicals, minimizing spill risks and waste, and simplifying safer handling and storage, solid chemistry supports greener operations and healthier environments. This aligns with green building principles cited by industry leaders and with Practice Greenhealth’s sustainability initiatives that many hospitals pursue.
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