Hospital's Cooling Tower Retrofit Seeks to Eliminate Legionnaire's Disease
In New York City, outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease have become an all too common occurrence. Over the last few years, hundreds have been severely sickened and dozens killed by the bacteria that proliferates in water systems, like cooling towers used in conjunction with large HVAC systems.
When a cooling tower supporting the HVAC system at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln was nearing its expected end of life, the management of the hospital in the South Bronx saw an opportunity. The year before, the neighboring community had experienced outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, and even though the hospital’s cooling towers played no role in those outbreaks, the chance to increase protections against possible future exposures of the bacteria that cause the disease was an important consideration.