Chicago EPA employees seek protection from contaminated water at their own office

Employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago filed their second complaint in just over a month against their employer, saying that they are not safe as long as a harmful bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and heavy metals contaminate water sources at their Loop offices.

In late August, the union representing EPA employees filed a grievance against the agency’s management due to the presence of the bacteria Legionella and high levels of lead and copper in drinking water sources at the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building, 77 W. Jackson Blvd. The six-state regional office of EPA occupies 15 floors at Metcalfe.

Since the last complaint the union, American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, learned that at least three more contaminated sources were located. And a number of fixtures remain untested, according to the union.

“Many sources at the Metcalfe Building have not been tested for Legionella, lead and copper,” said a letter to EPA from the union dated Sept. 25. “Based on the sampling that has been done, it is reasonable to believe that a significant number of [other] untested sources are contaminated.”

The list of additional suspected sources numbers in the dozens, according to the union. At least five drinking water sources at Metcalfe were found to be contaminated with Legionella and another two exceeded permitted levels of lead and copper, according to test results.

Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia that can be deadly.

The union represents more than 800 EPA workers, including many experts on environmental hazards and threats to human health.

In addition to drinking water, the union notes that washing hands in restrooms and other sinks can spread Legionella in the air. So far, there have been no reported cases of Legionnaires’ diseases among EPA employees at Metcalfe, said Local 704 President Nicole Cantello.

All drinking water sources should be shut down, hand washing should be prohibited and a number of other safety measures should be in place, the union said in its September letter.

In addition, employees who can work from an alternative location, including at home, should be allowed until the problems are fixed, the union said.

“I would certainly urge management to do everything and take every precaution they possibly can to make sure the staff and anyone who comes in contact with the situation are safe,” U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a Chicago Democrat, said in an interview. “If they can’t get it done quickly then telework or work from some other location or some other space would be a very strong recommendation.”

Davis said the EPA workers have been complaining to his office through their union representatives.

Both U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, are also aware of the issue and have been looking into it, according to their representatives.

An EPA spokeswoman in Chicago said the agency was “taking this matter seriously.” It’s been in contact with the federal body that manages buildings, the General Services Administration. The steps taken to warn the employees about the health threats, installation of bottled water stations and other measures “enable the EPA Metcalfe worksite to be a safe and healthful work environment,” the spokeswoman said in a statement to the Sun-Times.

Meanwhile, federal officials at the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St., are also waiting for a fix to their water contamination issues.

“We understand they have found additional locations within the courthouse that tested positive for Legionella,” said Thomas Bruton, clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. “This is concerning and disappointing.

The Sun-Times previously reported that Dirksen, the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn St., and a day care at Metcalfe all had drinking water sources contaminated with Legionella.

The General Services Administration, the landlord for Metcalfe, Dirksen and Kluczynski, said in a statement that it was working on the issue and downplayed the risk to human health.

“Most healthy people exposed to Legionella do not get sick and test results serve as a drinking water system performance indicator — not as direct measures of risk to human illness,” the statement said, adding that officials continue to “monitor, remediate and implement water quality management to protect the safety of its building occupants.”