EPA workers’ union calls for telework options in response to Legionella bacteria in 3 cities

The union representing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff called on the agency to allow temporary remote work after Legionella bacteria was found at multiple EPA facilities around the country.

Officials have reportedly closed certain sinks, water fountains and other water sources at EPA buildings in Washington, D.C.; Houston; and Chicago after positive tests for the bacteria.

Legionella is associated with various infections, including the pneumonia-like illness Legionnaires’ disease, although the type found in the EPA facilities is not the type most commonly associated with the disease.

The General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees many federal office buildings, has said repairs are ongoing to address the test results, which also found lead and copper in the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building in Chicago.

In a Thursday statement, Marie Owens Powell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, which represents thousands of EPA employees, called on the leadership of the agency and the GSA to make telework options available while the outbreak is resolved.

“EPA employees work day in and day out to keep our communities safe from environmental hazards. The irony of legionella, along with lead and copper contamination, being found in EPA buildings across the country, is not lost on us. Legionella can become airborne and deadly,” Powell said in a statement.

“Expecting staff to come into the office and put themselves at risk of exposure is completely unacceptable. We have the ability and the technology to allow our workers to continue working safely from an alternate work location while the situation is being remediated.”

AFGE Local 704, which represents the Chicago facility, has also filed a grievance noting that its contract requires telework options when the agency “cannot provide a safe and healthful workspace,” and also requested a shutdown of all drinking water sources in the affected buildings.

“EPA leadership is committed to ensuring that the agency’s workforce has access to healthy and safe drinking water. As part of federal government-wide safety and building operation efforts, GSA, the owner and building manager for most federal government facilities, has performed routine drinking water testing at EPA facilities,” an EPA spokesperson told The Hill. “GSA is testing approximately 1,400 federally owned facilities and approximately 6,000 leased spaces, covering all federal tenants in those facilities, including EPA.”

The Hill has reached out to the GSA for comment.

Updated Sept. 6 at 10:35 a.m.

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