Legionella and elevated levels of copper and lead have been detected in the water in three federal buildings in downtown Chicago and a courthouse in Rockford, prompting Illinois’ two senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and several other members of Congress to call on the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide a timeline for remediation.
The three buildings in Chicago’s Loop include the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building, John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. The Rockford building is Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse Building in Rockford.
One of the buildings includes a children’s daycare and the Metcalfe Federal Building includes the Chicago regional headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the GSA said in August it was working toward remediation, but there has been no firm timeline provided.
There has yet to be a reported case of Legionnaires’ disease, according to Hoodline, but several employees who work in the buildings are not happy with the slow progress and lack of communication regarding GSA’s progress.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
