1980s HDPE Cooling Tower Still Running Near Medway

A cooling tower installed in 1981 at Radio Frequency Company’s plant in Millis, a few miles from Medway, is still operating after 45 years. (everythingrf.com) Cooling towers work like outdoor radiators for big machines: warm water meets moving air, some of the water evaporates, and the remaining water returns cooler to the system. Radio Frequency Company uses this tower to remove heat from industrial radio-frequency heating equipment built for food processing and other manufacturing jobs. (everythingrf.com) The Millis unit is made from high-density polyethylene, or HDPE, an engineered plastic designed to resist corrosion. Delta Cooling Towers, the manufacturer, says it introduced seamless polyethylene cooling towers in 1970 and expanded that product line in the late 1970s. (deltacooling.com) The case stands out because metal cooling towers often last about 10 to 15 years, depending on climate and operating conditions, while this one has run continuously since Ronald Reagan’s first year in office. Thomas Maio, a senior program manager at Radio Frequency Company, said he initially assumed the tower was about 20 years old before learning it dated to 1981. (everythingrf.com) For Medway-area towns and school districts weighing heating and cooling upgrades, the lesson is less about nostalgia than replacement cycles and inspection budgets. A tower that resists rust can shift spending away from structural repairs and toward water treatment, fan motors, pumps, and controls. (everythingrf.com) The public-health side does not disappear when the shell lasts longer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says both open- and closed-circuit cooling towers can release aerosolized water, and if Legionella is present, that mist can spread bacteria over miles. (cdc.gov) The same federal guidance says operators should use a water management program, monitor water conditions regularly, and perform offline cleaning and disinfection at least once a year. It also recommends high-efficiency drift eliminators and locating towers at least 25 feet from building air intakes. (cdc.gov) Massachusetts regulators give the same warning in plainer terms: Legionella can grow in building water systems and spread when devices such as cooling towers aerosolize contaminated droplets. The state says cooling towers are among the most likely sources examined in Legionnaires’ disease investigations. (mass.gov) At the Millis plant, the tower supports a closed loop that keeps distilled process water away from city water and recirculates heat safely during production and testing. That kind of setup helps explain why a 1981 tower near Medway is still less a museum piece than a working part of a modern factory. (everythingrf.com)