How many of you recall the Bob Seeger song: Where have all the flowers gone? It seems that it might be time to modify the lyrics by replacing the word flowers with biocides approved for use in metalworking fluids (MWF). I admit, that’s a mouthful, but the reality is comparable to that behind the original song. The list of active substances for which Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) dossiers have been submitted includes a mere 27 actives intended for use in MWF. Less than 10 years ago, there…

If you will be attending the STLE Annual Meeting on 15 through 19 May 2016, be sure to join me at the Metalworking Fluids Technical Session III, in the Silver Room, Bally’s Las Vegas, NV. At 0830h, on Tuesday 17 May, I’ll be presenting my paper: “Adenosine Triphosphate Testing to Evaluate Biofilm Dispersants.” The paper discusses the use of LuminUltra Technologies Limited’s QGO-M and DSA test methods to compare the efficacy of a number of different formulations for removing biofilm from pipe…

For those of you who are interested in metalworking fluid microbiology and microbial contamination control, I invite you to read my March 2016 Tribology and Lubrication Transactions TLT) article: MWF Biocides Part II – Science vs. Fiction.
This was an accidental article that I was asked to write in response to an error-laden article that had appeared in TLT’s November issue. The earlier piece had been written by an individual whose familiarity with the topic was limited to the research…

This past summer, there was a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease (Legionellosis) cases in the Bronx. As most readers know, legionellosis is a disease that creates pneumonia-like symptoms caused by bacteria that belong to the species Legionella pneumophila. The species disease names both commemorate the sentinel outbreak that struck 221 attendees at the 1976 American Legion Convention in Philadelphia. Everything we know about Legionella today stems from the initial response to the 1976…

I’m sharing an email exchange that I had with a colleague who had asked about the risk of L. pneumophila (the microbe that causes Legionnaire’s disease) in MWF.
Thank you for posting your query to BCA’s website.

You wrote:
“I wondered if you could help me answer a customer’s question. One of my customer’s machine tool operators is in the hospital being treated for Legionnaires’ disease. My customer asked me if the Kathon 886 MW or Kathon CC kills this strain of bacteria. I really…