Legislative Response to Deadly Legionnaires' Disease Outbreaks

Following two fatal outbreaks of legionnaires disease this summer on the Upper East Side and in the Bronx, New York City lawmakers are considering changes to how and when building owners must alert officials to the presence of legionella bacteria in cooling towers.

Proposed Changes to Legionella Reporting Requirements

The New York City Council is reviewing a bill that aims to reduce the bacteria level threshold at which building owners must report legionella test results to the health department. Currently, building owners are only required to notify the department when bacteria levels reach 1,000 colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL). The new proposal would lower this threshold to 10 CFU/mL, significantly increasing the frequency of reports to the health department.

Current Rules for Bacteria Levels and Disinfection Protocols

According to existing city rules, building owners must take immediate action as bacteria levels in cooling towers increase. When legionella bacteria levels reach 10 CFU/mL, owners must disinfect the cooling tower within 24 hours and conduct a retest within three to seven days. But only when the bacteria reach 1,000 CFU/mL do owners need to alert the health department and carry out a full cleaning and disinfection of the tower within 48 hours.

The new bill focuses on reporting requirements alone and does not change the existing cleaning or disinfection protocols for various bacteria levels.

City Council's Approach and Rationale

The bill is led by Councilmember Lynn Schulman, chair of the health committee. Schulman explained, "We're trying to find ways to lower the opportunity for there to be outbreaks like we experienced this summer and last summer, and this is a tool in the toolbox." She also noted that additional negotiations or amendments to the legislation are expected following the upcoming council hearing.

Increased Testing Frequency for Enhanced Safety

In addition to the proposed changes to legionella reporting, a law enacted in May now requires building owners to increase testing frequency for cooling towers. Instead of testing every three months, owners must now conduct tests every 31 days. This measure is intended to detect potentially dangerous legionella bacteria earlier and help prevent outbreaks of legionnaires disease.

What Comes Next

The City Council's health committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the bill on Monday. The discussion will focus on how lower reporting thresholds can help the health department respond more quickly to the presence of legionella bacteria in cooling towers and prevent future outbreaks.

Source: gothamist.com.