TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa General Hospital will conduct a steam cleaning procedure on its boilers that are part of the new central energy plant on Thursday.
The new central energy plant, which opened back in late March, is used to supply hot water for sanitizing surgical tools, maintaining personal hygiene and powering the hospital.
TGH said the cleanings should last about 3-5 minutes for each boiler and are going to be spaced in gaps of 5-10 minutes apart to complete all 5-6 cleanings.
Those in or around the hospital may hear a loud noise or see a harmless cloud of steam. The noise could sound like a jet engine. And the steam might be pouring out the northeast side of the hospital.
The central energy plant was a $53 million investment. It was specially-designed to withstand severe weather or any electric disturbance. The building is meant to be able to handle any possible flooding from a Category 5 hurricane.
It has four generators to create 100 percent power for the hospital's main campus in case an outage was to occur.
"All safety precautions are being taken and no negative impacts are anticipated," the hospital wrote in a statement. "Tampa General extends its thanks to the community for its patience as we perform this one-time maintenance procedure."
