But while most of the emphasis has been on cleaning to eliminate the microbes that enter human lungs and sicken anywhere from 8,000 to 18,000 people every year, attention may shift to the way the water droplets that carry the microbes are dispersed and inhaled by victims.
Cooling system drift eliminators, usually in the form of baffles that block or capture droplets, could be crucially important. Design of evaporative cooling towers has become more preventive, says Pearson. “If the bacteria is captive in the cooling tower, it is not dangerous to humans.”