Legionella bacteria detected in CCNY cooling tower

Photo: Marshak Science Building // Leon Orlov-Sullivan for The Campus Magazine

Shabnam Pahrand

On Wednesday, August 13, officials at the City College of New York reported that the cooling tower located at the Marshak Science Building tested positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria. Legionella bacteria—spread to humans through inhaling mist from contaminated water sources—develops into Legionella's disease, a severe form of pneumonia. 

According to CCNY officials, the cooling tower system was cleaned and disinfected in compliance with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene regulations, testing negative for Legionella bacteria just twelve days after the initial outbreak. 

“We will continue to conduct routine inspections, cleaning, disinfection, and water sampling of all cooling towers to ensure compliance with the [New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene],” CCNY officials reported in the campus-wide email. However, this statement did little to ease frustration among the student body, who view the test result as reflective of CCNY’s broader institutional neglect.

Tara Sanchez, a senior at CCNY, exclaimed that the incident “fit into the theme at CCNY and other CUNY campuses of a lack of management and upkeep of facilities and infrastructure,” adding that the administration “should care more about the health of their students.” Another student, Lucas de Jesus, agreed and added that, “CCNY Admin consistently drops the ball when it comes to meeting our needs; whether it be the legionella bacteria, the broken escalators, or even the way in which they handled the protests last semester.” 

This incident is part of the larger Legionella cluster that affected Central Harlem in late July where health officials reported 112 cases of Legionnaires—90 hospitalizations, and 7 deaths—in zip codes bordering CCNY. However, there have not been any confirmed cases directly linked to the contaminated cooling towers on campus.