COOLING-TOWER REGISTRY SOUGHT BY HEALTH UNIT

CHRIS SIMON chris.simon@simcoe.com

Acommon HVAC component is causing an increasing number of legionella outbreaks throughout Ontario.

And, right now, we're relatively powerless to stop the spread of this potentially deadly bacteria. That is why the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is requesting the provincial government implement a mandatory cooling-tower registry. Cooling towers are often installed as part of HVAC systems on larger facilities such as apartment buildings, malls, schools, hospitals, arenas and factories.

"There's really no easy way to know, right now, which ones do — there's no record maintained in building construction," health unit environmental health team manager

Brenda Armstrong said.

"The fact we have to find which buildings have cooling towers takes an in- credible amount of investment of person hours driving around, trying to see if buildings have them. We need to know where these are. We can end up with a number of people seriously ill."

The towers can easily develop the conditions to host legionella bacteria. Since many are located on roofs, wind can pick up water droplets from the towers and disperse them over distances of several kilometres.

This problem is only expected to get worse due to climate change, aging infrastructure and a growing population, Armstrong said.

"The issue would not just effect that building, but the entire population for quite a widespread distance," she said. "It's important."

In a letter on the City of Barrie's Nov. 15 circulation list, health unit board chair Anita Dubeau says a registry would be a first step toward controlling the spread of legionella, and should eventually lead to the development of stricter water treatment, disinfection and shutdown protocols, and risk management plans.

"The health unit is concerned that the burden of legionella infections is underestimated and rising," she said. "Legionella bacteria are ubiquitous in freshwater environments and can replicate under favourable conditions in water distribution and plumbing systems, posing arisk to people. Cooling towers, notably, can cause significant community outbreaks of legionella infections."

In 2019, there were 20 cases of legionellosis reported across the SimcoeMuskoka region, which is the most on record in a single year. Fifteen were tied to clusters in Barrie and Orillia — 67 sites were investigated across both municipalities, with genetic sequencing finally determining a cooling tower was behind the Orillia outbreak.

Hamilton is the only jurisdiction in Ontario that requires registration, Dubeau said.