November 4, 2020 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Legionella Revisited: The Case of the Cooling Tower

Like the last case we revisited, this post highlights a past client’s case. Our last post highlighted the danger of hot tubs. This post highlights the threat posed by cooling towers – a large, commercial building’s water cooling system. In July and August 2015, there was an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in the Bronx that claimed 12 lives and sickened at least 128 people. The outbreak caused widespread concern and weeks of uncertainty among residents. Thanks to the hard work of epidemiologists and investigators, the source of the outbreak was identified: a cooling tower in the area. In cooling tower…

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October 11, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Osthoff Resort and Cooling Towers

According to news reports, at least four people were diagnosed with  Legionnaires’ disease after staying at The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, was found in the men’s restroom near an indoor pool and in a cooling tower at the resort. Cooling towers continue to play an important role as to how persons contract Legionnaires’ disease, including numerous clients of this firm currently being represented. Cooling towers are a source of infestation because of how they are designed and operate. The warm air from inside the building is cooled by coming into contact with…

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May 3, 2017 zacherlaw 0 Comments

CDC Finds Legionella In 84% of Cooling Towers in Nationwide Sample

A recent CDC study of the presence of legionella in our nation’s cooling has produced concerning results. Water from 190+ cooling towers from around the country was collected and tested for the presence of legionella bacteria. The CDC found that 84% of those water samples contained at least DNA traces of legionella bacteria. The study also found that 79 of the 196 (~40%) surveyed cooling towers contained live legionella bacteria. These findings were enough for the study’s head researcher, Dr. Anna Llewellyn, to refer to legionella as being “ubiquitous in U.S. cooling towers”. Cooling towers have been strongly associated with outbreaks of Legionnaires’…

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November 18, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

One dead and 10 more ill with Legionnaires’ disease in Lake County, Ohio

A 54-year-old Cuyahoga County gentleman has died, and 10 more members of the Lake County community were sickened with Legionnaires’ disease. The cooling towers at Consolidated Precision Products (“CPP”) in Eastlake, Ohio were investigated this past October as possible sources of the bacteria after knowledge that between the months of July and September, one employee of CPP and two employees of neighboring companies became ill with the disease. Inspectors say that during the testing, one of the cooling towers at CPP tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Subsequently, the company released a statement that the facility’s production and cooling water systems- including the…

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