ASHRAE's Legionnaires' Disease Update

The outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease in Manhattan's Central Harlem neighborhood was traced to building cooling towers.

Three persons have died from the pneumonia-causing bacteria and there have been 90 total cases to date. The building owners were given 24 hours to eliminate the bacteria from the cooling towers associated with those buildings.

ASHRAE Standard 188 -- Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems --  was created to help building owners mitigate the risk of this bacteria growth. Both New York City and New York State require certain building owners’ water management plans to align with some sections of Standard 188 but do not currently incorporate the full standard.

ASHRAE Government Affairs team reported today that the New York City health department plans to adopt stricter rules for Legionella risk management  early next year , with increased penalties for noncompliant building owners and a new requirement for bacteria sampling to be conducted by a certified lab. On August 11, ASHRAE President Bill McQuade sent a letter to the New York City Acting Health Commissioner offering technical expertise and assistance as the city responds to the public health crisis, which can be found  here .