Source: http://abc7ny.com, January 14, 2015
By: Josh Einiger
The Health Department announced Tuesday the results of preliminary tests that show that the cooling towers at Co-Op City are contaminated with the Legionella bacteria.
“We need answers,” a resident said.
At a town hall meeting Tuesday night, tenants of Co-Op City came armed with hundreds of questions, but heard precious few answers.
“How regularly are we having our water monitored,” another person asked.
They want to know more about the virus the city says has been spreading in their midst.
With her body aches, fever, and chills, Felyce Starr says she has all the symptoms of Legionnaire’s Disease, and she’s awaiting her test results.
“It’s nerve-wracking to know that maybe this could have been prevented, if this were told to me sooner, maybe I could have taken more preventative measures,” Starr said.
So far the city Health Department has isolated just eight cases of the 55,000 people who live in the 35 building complex, with four cases more elsewhere in the Bronx.
Health officials say it’s enough to call it a cluster in Co-op City.
“It lives in water; people generally get it by breathing in mists of water that have it. And those mists can be dispersed by a variety of things like spas, showers, and cooling towers which give off an evaporative mist,” said Dr. Sharon Balter, NYC Dept. of Health.
Tuesday, the DOH announced it has found Legionella bacteria growing in a cooling tower at the complex’s power plant.
River Bay Corporation, which manages the co-op, has shut down the entire plant down, to disinfect it.
“We’re being very proactive, taking whatever steps we can to kill this bacteria,” said Jeffrey Buss, an attorney.
But what mystifies residents is that some of the cases are nowhere near that cooling tower.
“It’s been quite a stressful ordeal,” said Brenda Hines, a mother.
Brenda Hines’ son Ronald spent nine days in intensive care and she says, was never close enough to the tower to inhale its mist.
“I don’t understand it. My son, we’re all exposed to the water, the vents, the ducts, yet he contracted this and no one else has, so it’s very confusing,” Hines said.
The Health Department is continuing its investigation to determine if the cooling towers are the source of these recent cases.
The infected water is used to cool Co-Op City’s heating and electrical systems and is self-contained and is separate from the water used by Co-Op City residents for drinking, cooking and bathing. Officials say the water at Co-Op City is still safe to drink, bathe and cook with.
With the guidance of the Health Department, River Bay began disinfecting the cooling towers with chlorine on Jan. 10 and also shut down the cooling tower at Co-Op City to do physical cleaning, followed by more chlorination to control the growth of Legionella bacteria.
Throughout the disinfection process, River Bay will continually test for Legionella and report the results back to the Health Department. Following this initial phase, the Health Department and River Bay will continue to work together to modify maintenance procedures to prevent the regrowth of Legionella. There is not expected to be any disruption to tenants’ heat or hot water service during this process.
“The Health Department is concerned about this sudden increase in Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx,” Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said. “We are conducting a thorough investigation and working closely with River Bay Corporation to minimize the public risk and to prevent future cases. I urge anyone with symptoms to seek medical attention right away.”
Caused by the bacteria Legionella, symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can include fever, chills and cough. Other symptoms include muscle aches, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion and, occasionally, diarrhea. Chest X-rays usually show pneumonia, with symptoms usually appearing two to 10 days after significant exposure to Legionella bacteria.
Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from person to person, and most cases can be traced to plumbing systems where conditions are favorable for Legionella growth. Examples of such systems are whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, cooling towers and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems.
(Some information from the Associated Press)