NY Reaches Agreement With Verizon Over Legionnaires’ Disease Risks

NEW YORK — Once a rare occurrence, a string of recent Legionnaires’ Disease cases in New York has sparked renewed concerns about rooftop cooling towers.

New York has reached an agreement with Verizon that would ensure that the company takes immediate action to prevent the spread of Legionnaires' disease, New York Attorney General Letitita James announced Thursday.

Legionnaires' disease, an often fatal form of pneumonia, is contracted by inhaling water droplets that contain Legionella bacteria. Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, high fever and muscle aches. The disease presents the greatest risk for people 50 years of age or older, current or former smokers and those with chronic lung diseases or compromised immune systems.

Rooftop cooling towers, which are sometimes a part of buildings’ cooling systems, are a significant source of public exposure to Legionella bacteria. Without proper maintenance and monitoring, cooling towers can provide the perfect environment for the growth of Legionella bacteria and can expose and infect nearby communities through the mist of water emitted into the air.

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• Legionnaire's Disease Breaks Out in the Bronx

In 2019, the attorney general's office began investigating several owners of cooling towers statewide, including Verizon, that appeared to have significant gaps in their reporting requirements under NYS law. Her office found that since 2017, around 225 alleged violations of cooling tower laws had occurred at approximately 45 buildings with cooling towers owned by Verizon statewide, which the company maintains and manages through contractors and vendors. The locations for the alleged violations throughout the state are listed here.

The violations found at the Verizon-owned buildings included alleged failures to test cooling tower water samples for Legionella and other bacteria in a timely manner, failures to take corrective action after positive test results and failures to complete cleaning, disinfection and inspection of cooling towers in a timely manner, according to the AG.

"Legionnaires’ disease remains a deadly presence in areas across our state, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color," James said. "It is essential that companies such as Verizon are taking the necessary actions to avoid the spread of this preventable and lethal disease. This agreement will protect New Yorkers' public health and slow the spread of Legionnaires' disease."

Under the agreement with the attorney general's office, Verizon is now required to establish new policies and procedures that will increase accountability and tracking:

• Ensuring that building managers report to environmental health and safety compliance personnel regarding cooling tower compliance responsibilities;
• Maintaining a centralized tracking system for cooling tower compliance deadlines, including corrective action deadlines;
• Notifying senior Verizon management about any violation at a cooling tower or when any lab report shows elevated concentrations of Legionella or other bacteria;
• Performing an annual audit for compliance with policies and procedures.

The attorney general said that the agreement will also require Verizon to pay a fine of $118,000 to be used to fund projects that prevent, abate, mitigate or control air pollution or its resulting health impacts.

James added that her office is also investigating other cooling tower owners in New York State for compliance with anti-Legionnaires’ disease laws.

Between 200 to 800 cases of Legionnaires’ disease are diagnosed statewide annually, although the actual number of infections may be higher since many go undiagnosed or unreported. New York City has seen several lethal outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, with 24 people recently infected in the Bronx, resulting in two confirmed deaths and several hospitalizations. The Bronx previously had an outbreak in 2015 which sickened 120 people and led to at least 12 deaths.

After the 2015 outbreak, both New York State and New York City adopted laws designed to prevent Legionella growth in cooling towers and required building owners to follow several safety, maintenance and reporting requirements, with penalties for non-compliance.