Under the Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations 1992 all premises with cooling towers and evaporative condensers must register with the local authority. If you install any kind of cooling tower or evaporative condenser you have a legal duty to notify us within one month of the installation.
A 'cooling tower' is used to cool water by direct contact between that water and a stream of air.
An 'evaporative condenser' is used to cool water by passing that fluid through a heat exchanger which is itself cooled by contact with water passing through a stream of air.
Common uses of cooling towers are providing cooled water for air-conditioning,
manufacturing processes and electric power generation. If your company has air conditioned offices or carries out a manufacturing process that involves the use of water as a coolant, it may have a cooling tower.
Over recent years there have been a number of outbreaks of legionnaires' disease associated with wet cooling systems (cooling towers and evaporative condensers) which have resulted in serious cases of infection and fatalities in a number of cases.
In addition to registering with us, we also need you to let us know of any changes to the system, or if it is no longer in operation.
There is no charge for the registration.
Details from the application forms will appear in a public register. You can download a list of all cooling towers in West Dunbartonshire by clicking on the link. The main purpose of the register is to allow us to identify where potential sources or risk are, and allow us or HSE to monitor and inspect them more easily.
This is a registration process, not a licensing process, therefore you will be placed on the register as soon as you apply.
If you are unhappy with the way we have processed your application please contact us.
Find out more about objections and representations