Council Member Won on hotel Legionella notification and worker protections

So, Council Member Wilson.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Commissioner, for your testimony.

Last month, near-critical rates of Legionella were found at a hotel in my district.

What measures does DOHMH have in place for notifying guests at hotels ahead of, during, and after their stays when there are critical or near-critical rates of Legionella that are detected at the hotel?

Yeah, thank you.

So one thing to make clear right up front is that the towers are consistently tested,

sampled, and owners have a very clear understanding of what needs to happen at what rate of Legionella bacteria that's found.

In the water.

So for instance,

at a rate of 10 CFUs or colony forming units, they need to remediate.

If it goes higher, there are next actions that need to be taken.

Let me hand it to Deputy Commissioner Crenshaw to talk a little bit more about the highline situation.

Yes, I think we know the hotel you're referring to.

And it's actually a great example of how the system is working.

We had done an inspection, a routine inspection there, and taken a sample at the beginning of July.

It was non-detect, no evidence of Legionella bacteria.

Soon thereafter, the operators of that cooling tower took their own sample and did find levels of Legionella bacteria.

They remediated that initial, it was a low level, that initial remediation was not effective.

Their compliance sampling and testing showed that there was more work for them to do.

They did that additional corrective action, and then they found that they had killed that bacteria, and they were back to that non-detect level.

So that was actually, to me, that was a great example of the new regime that the council had put in place for that monthly sampling, doing exactly what we wanted to do.

So if they, as a scenario where, you know, an employer does not do what they're supposed to do, what measures are there to hold employers accountable when workers, you know, particularly those with pre-existing health conditions,

which make them especially vulnerable, are put in direct contact?

with critical Legionella concentrations.

So I also should add that, and this goes to some of the questions that the chair was asking,

the levels of bacteria in the cooling towers when we require remediation, that doesn't mean that those are an immediate risk for a cluster.

We know that the bacteria is going to grow in these systems, and when those sample results come back showing some growth, what that means is that the owner needs to adjust its maintenance and monitoring plan, take corrective action, see what's out of balance.

If those bacteria levels are growing, they maybe need to take a harder look and make those adjustments.

The council's law does say that owners are required when asked to provide that information, and I think that was one of the things we clarified for the owners here.

Chair, can I ask one quick question?

Thank you.

How can workers report any unsafe conditions related to Legionnaires and ensuring that they won't face any type of retaliation?

Is there a tip line, anonymous tip line, or anything like that that DOHMH operates?

They can call 311.

And I will say that owners are always welcome to call us and to do technical assistance, as we did in this case with the Highline.

We are here to provide guidance and TA.

Thank you.