Legionella Found At Social Security Headquarters

       From Federal Times:

Elevated levels of Legionella bacteria were recently detected in water fixtures during routine testing at the Social Security Administration’s headquarters building in Woodlawn, Maryland, officials said. 

A spokesperson for Social Security said in a statement to Federal Times on Tuesday that after a broad sweep of water fixtures, some came back with elevated levels, which is not unusual given testing experts have told the General Services Administration that roughly half of the water samples they take come back positive. 

Upon retesting, only “a small subset” of water sources in the main campus building indicated elevated levels, according to the official. Impacted fixtures have been removed, and the spokesman said employees have been notified. Officials also said they’ve flushed the system, which helps disrupt any film that have developed over water sources and stops the growth of any naturally present Legionella. …

Altmeyer Building Renovations Completed

 

From left to right, before during and after renovations

     From the General Services Administration (GSA), which handles a lot of the federal government's housekeeping duties, including handling federal properties:

... An example of optimization is the recently completed modernization project at the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Arthur J. Altmeyer Building in Woodlawn, Maryland. The Altmeyer Building serves as SSA’s main facility on their headquarters campus, housing the SSA Commissioner, SSA executives and support staff.

In 2013, GSA and SSA completed a master plan that identified the Altmeyer Building as their highest priority to optimizing the headquarters campus. Constructed in 1959, the 181,662 square foot facility includes office and meeting space, and a first floor auditorium. With no major renovations in 60 years, Altmeyer was functionally and technologically obsolete, with original building systems past their expected life and costly to maintain.

SSA and GSA collaborated on a full building modernization, using Altmeyer’s existing structure to save taxpayers nearly $13 million. Demolition and asbestos abatement began in summer 2018. GSA renovated all exterior cladding and interior finishes, and modernized the auditorium. New elevators and building systems were installed including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire alarms.

The modernization project improved space utilization, nearly doubling building occupancy to approximately 800 SSA employees. ...