Newsletter Accidentally Resent - Monkeying up the System

It looks like Mailchimp, our email newsletter service, grabbed itself by the tail earlier today and accidentally resent an old newsletter to our subscriber list. Our apologies if you received this blast from the past and were understandably perplexed by it. We're working with them now to make sure it doesn't happen again. Rest assured that the last thing we want to do is overload your already bursting inboxes!

Legionella Sampling Just Got a Whole Lot Sexier

Social Media at Work - Isolating the Source

It seems the infamous grotto at the Playboy mansion may be even more sordid than you would have imagined. Over the weekend the Centers for Disease Control released a report detailing their investigation into a February outbreak that infected more than 120 guests of the legendary party locale. They determined that the culprit was none other than the Legionella bacterium – a waterborne pathogen commonly found in spas, showers, and humidifiers which can cause Legionnaire’s Disease or Pontiac Fever.

We’ve previously discussed how our polycarbonate membrane filters are used by the CDC to detect samples of the legionella bacterium. In addition to traditional detection methods, the CDC also turned to social media in this case to track down those afflicted and to uncover the source of the problem. Through the use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and online polling the CDC was able to identify that there was an outbreak and deduce that it likely originated from a single source. Further investigation narrowed down the exact source to a particular spa inside the grotto (pictured above).

You do have to wonder if the social media investigation was more effective just because people wanted to brag about having gone to the Playboy mansion. Had this occurred in a local YMCA hot tub I’m not so sure as many people would have put it on their Facebook…

You can view the presentation about the details of the investigation here.

Standard Method and Application Guide

We made a new resource to show you which of our filters and equipment can be used for various Standard Methods and procedures from the likes of the EPA, NIOSH, ASTM and more. These procedures cover applications ranging from detecting pseudomonas in water to aviation fuel testing.

This guide lists the item category as well as precisely which filters to use for each application. We also included the links to particular method whenever possible – to make your research a little easier and because we like you.

Do you have an application that hasn’t been covered yet? Is there a standard we missed? Tell us about it and we’ll make sure to credit you for your righteous knowledge!

New Item - Quartz Fiber Filters

Quartz Fiber Filters for High Temp. Needs

This week we added another new item to our catalog - Quartz Fiber Filters. These filters are especially useful for high temperature filtration applications since they can withstand temperatures over 500°C.

Other nice things about these filters include their indefinite storage life and their high chemical resistance. Right now we have grades QR100 and QR200 available in diameters ranging from 21mm to 150mm.