Legionnaires' bacteria found at power plant

The bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was discovered at NIPSCO's Schahfer Generating Station earlier this fall and an employee subsequently alleged he had tested positive for the bacteria.

The employee came forward along with two others to be tested after NIPSCO informed all employees working there that a test for the bacteria in a cooling tower had come back positive in October, according to NIPSCO spokesman Tom Cuddy.

Tests on two of the employees came back negative. The third employee came back and told company officials he tested positive but subsequently refused to release his medical records, Cuddy said.

"We would like him to come forward and share his medical history with us," Cuddy said.

The bacteria cannot be spread from one person to another, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Legionnaires' disease, one of two diseases the bacteria can cause, results in pneumonia and kills from 5 percent to 30 percent of people who contract it, according to the CDC.

The cooling tower had been flushed and treated, and subsequent tests by an independent lab showed none of the bacteria, Cuddy said.

Officials at USW Local 12775, which represents workers at the sprawling Schahfer plant, say one employee also has told them he tested positive.

They say NIPSCO made some effort to inform employees about the original finding in the cooling tower but say the company has been remiss in not telling employees anything about the report that someone contracted the bacteria.

The chief union grievance officer at the plant said he has been peppered for weeks with questions on the Legionella find and subsequent reports that someone had tested positive.

"Employees asked me what are we going to do, someone tested positive for this, and I had to say I don't know anything about it," Chief Grievance Officer Kris Richmond said.

The Jasper County Health Department is waiting for verification of reports a Schahfer employee tested positive for the bacteria and is cooperating with the Indiana Department of Health in the matter, according to Nancy Bailey, a nursing supervisor with the county health department.

Doctors and hospitals are required to report findings of Legionnaires' disease to their county health departments, which then report it to the state, according to Erik Deckers, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Health.

Contracting Legionella bacteria does not mean a person automatically has Legionnaires' disease, according to Shawn Richards, a respiratory epidemiologist with the state health department. The bacteria also can lead to Pontiac fever, a less serious disease.

The usual procedure for someone who tests positive is to treat the person with antibiotics and wait three to six weeks, when another test is performed.

Local 12775 safety chairman David Chlebek said the employee has told union officials he is now on antibiotics and will be tested again.

People get the disease when they breathe in mist or vapor that has been contaminated with the bacteria, according to the CDC.

The county health department has notified the state health department of the report that a Schahfer employee contracted Legionella, Richards said. But the state health department does not have anything it its hands at this point that would warrant an investigation, Richards said.

HOME