MIDTOWN—All cooling towers in the state must be inspected within 30 days and examined every three months under regulations adopted by the state Department of Health Monday to stop the spread of Legionnaires' disease.
The rules, which take effect immediately, come after New York City passed a law last week governing the registration, inspection and decontamination of all city cooling towers.
The city is dealing with the largest and deadliest outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in its history. So far, 12 people have died and 124 have been sickened in the South Bronx since July 12.
State and city officials agreed last week that the state regulations would use the framework of the city's law.
“Our new emergency regulations will make sure that building owners live up to their responsibilities and provide health officials with critical information to counter the spread of legionella bacteria," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "I want to reassure all New Yorkers: We are addressing the problem at its source and protecting the public health, statewide.”
Cooling towers circulate water to cool air conditioning equipment which is kept separate from the drinking supply of water. As the water is heated and cooled it can spread as a mist in the air, spreading legionella bacteria if the tank is contaminated.
The state regulations closely follow the city law, including defining what constitutes a cooling tower, requiring registration of the towers and forcing owners to develop a maintenance plan.
The state also has the power to inspect the towers and act on their cleaning if the owner refuses. Violators are also subject to civil and criminal penalties.
“Cooling towers have been implicated in several outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease in recent years. When they’re not properly maintained, these cooling towers can cause legionella overgrowth that leads to Legionnaire’s disease," said Dr. Howard Zucker, state health commissioner, in a statement.
"These new regulations will help prevent that and safeguard the health of all New Yorkers, especially those who are vulnerable to legionella," he added.
The new city law and state regulation make the city and the state the largest government entities to have such rules in the United States, experts say.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said that the South Bronx outbreak is "contained."
There have been no new cases since Aug. 3 in spite of an increase in the total number of people sickened over the last few days. City officials said those are previous cases that are just now being reported.
Bassett said one or more of five cooling towers is the likely source of the outbreak. City officials said they are awaiting the results of molecular tests to determine the exact source of the outbreak.
