By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — Low levels of bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found during water testing at the Ford Motor Co. Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant, 3001 Miller Road on June 20.
WWJ News Radio obtained a letter sent to employees that stated the bacteria was found in three different locations within the complex, at a women’s restroom, medical department, and a second restroom.
“However, the Legionella bacteria count did not exceed internal Ford guidelines that require immediate shutdown of the equipment for disinfection,” a letter from the Ford Rouge human resources manager read. “The affected areas will be scheduled for online disinfection according to established procedures.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia, lung infection, caused by Legionella bacteria and that Legionella can cause a milder illness called Pontiac fever.
Also, people can get Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever when they breathe in small droplets of water in the air that contain Legionella and that Legionella occurs naturally in fresh water environments, according to the CDC website.
Ford Motor Co. Global Manufacturing & Labor Communications Manager Kelli Felker told the Detroit Free Press that the tanks have been treated and retesting will take place in early July.
“We take the safety of our workforce very seriously. We regularly test for Legionella out of an abundance of caution and have a comprehensive, industry-leading, water-quality management process that includes steps to take if Legionella bacteria are found,” Felker said in a statement. “The Ford protocol is more stringent than federal guidelines. Following that process, in each of those cases, we immediately disinfected the equipment where the bacteria were found. We are not aware of any employees that have contracted the bacteria.”
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])