Legionella was found at all but 3 schools in West Orange: officials

WEST ORANGE, NJ – First, they were found at the town hall. They were later found in half a dozen other municipal buildings. Now, less than six weeks after the discovery of Legionella bacteria in water at Redwood Elementary School, West Orange officials have found additional samples of the dangerous pathogen in all district schools except three.

On Wednesday, the administrators of the West Orange Public District District reviewed the tests conducted in 12 schools on Legionella bacteria, the organisms responsible for legionellosis, a serious form of pneumonia found in drinking water. and not drinkable. systems

The test results for each school can be viewed here. Read Superintendent Jeff Rutzky's letter to parents and guardians here.

The district began testing the bacteria at Redwood Elementary School last month after a parent whose child was attending a summer camp reported that his child was sick from what the doctor said was an illness of the legionnaire. The child was finally determined not to have the disease, said Rutzky.

However, authorities began remediation efforts at school after test results showed that four out of 15 samples had "very low levels of Legionella bacteria" on August 14th.

On August 30, New Jersey American Water tested sinks and fountains at Redwood Elementary School for the presence of coliform bacteria. The results were satisfactory according to the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act, said the school officials.

Although samples from Redwood Elementary School met the standard, OMEGA Environmental was hired to perform a disinfection procedure with the help of a hyperchlorinated solution on September 10 and 11, have indicated officials.

The procedure included:

• "the chlorine is pumped into the water heater and stays in the hot water tank for four hours to eliminate any bacteria"
• "The chlorine is then pumped into the hot water piping system and stays in the system for fourteen hours to eliminate any bacteria"
• "the chlorinated water is discharged from the hot water tank and the hot water piping and rinsed with fresh water"
• "Water samples are taken and tested again after the hyperchlorination procedure to verify that the water meets the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act again"

Officials also took the following steps at Redwood Elementary School:

• "install filters on positive water sources tested"
• "replace faucets in affected areas"
• "proactively and temporarily cover all water fountains, although the Legionella bacteria only presents a risk of exposure to airborne droplets and not drinking from it. Water affected
• "remove, clean and disinfect all aerators (screens) in all rooms"
• "as much as possible, changes will be made to plumbing systems to minimize the potential for future bacterial growth"

West Orange school officials then began testing other Legionella District facilities, including the 12 schools, the central office, and the bus depot.

Samples for the Legionella bacteria have been positive in the administration building and in all schools except Liberty Middle School, Betty Maddalena Early Learning Center and Kelly Elementary School, officials said Wednesday.

"All affected schools will undergo the same corrective measures as Omega Environmental's Redwood Primary School, followed by Garden State Environmental tests," said the school's administrators. "Bottles of water should be available in all schools until testing and corrective actions are completed."

To complete the process, the correction is done on the weekends, said the administrators.

The remediation schedule follows below:

• Pleasant Mt. The chlorination process was completed on September 19 and was retested for Legionella bacteria on September 24th.
• St. Cloud The chlorination process was completed on September 22nd and will be re-tested on September 27th.
• Hazelnut the chlorination process will be completed on September 28th and 29th. The test will be performed approximately four days after the chlorination process.
• Gregory, Washington and the administrative building The chlorination process will be completed on October 5th and 6th, October 12th and 13th or October 19th and 20th. The test will be performed approximately four days after the chlorination process.
• Edison and Roosevelt the chlorination process will be completed on October 26 or 27 or November 2 and 3. The tests will be carried out about four days after the chlorination process.
• Orange West High School will be carried out from 8 to 11 November. The test will be performed approximately four days after the chlorination process.

"It is important to note that there is no confirmed case of legionellosis in West Orange," said Superintendent Rutzky on Wednesday. "We will continue to be diligent in our approach to address the water sources tested positive for Legionella bacteria and to complete the process as quickly as possible."

The school district administrators coordinated their responses with the city's health department workers, who conducted their own legionellosis tests in several buildings, including City Hall, Lafayette Park, Park O & ########################################################################### 39 Connor, Fire Station No. 2. Fire Station No. 4 and Police Headquarters.

West Orange's Director of Health, Theresa DeNova, has already provided the following information on Legionnaires' disease:

"This is not contagious, from person to person … it is not suspended in the air … it can not be contracted by drinking or touching water … and the way it contracts is the inhalation of contaminated water fog. "

New Jersey American Water has previously issued the following statement about the situation in West Orange:

"Providing safe water is New Jersey American Water's number one priority and a responsibility we share with all of our customers, although treated drinking water meets federal standards and quality requirements. became aware of the problems that the Township of West Orange experienced with Legionella in the plumbing infrastructure of its municipal building, we began to work proactively with Mayor Parisi, his staff, health officials and the city consultants to provide expert advice and assistance as the city works to address this situation, we are committed to helping the township solve this problem by disinfecting and upgrading its building systems to ensure a healthy and healthy work environment. sure to his employees.

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Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) / Youtube