According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), water cooling towers can be a breeding ground for Legionella bacteria, the microbes that cause Legionnaires' disease. Here's why: Bacteria thrive in warm, wet conditions, making watercooling towers an ideal environment.
As a result, people can get Legionnaire's disease, which can cause pneumonia, when they breathe in water droplets dispensed from HVAC systems that contain Legionella bacteria. In fact, a 2017 study by the CDC found six Legionnaires' outbreaks in New York City that resulted in 213 cases and 18 deaths. Three of those outbreaks were linked to cooling towers.
To address this public health concern and liability, companies are treating the water inside of their industrial cooling tower with antimicrobial substances that kill the bacteria. For other water treatment applications, an air stripper is often used. As another precaution, plastic cooling tower systems can be manufactured with antimicrobial resins built into the unit materials and components to provide an additional layer of defense against Legionella. Find out more about the anti-microbial product technology at Delta Cooling Towers.
