MERCER

Employee complaint sparks OSHA investigation at Reznor

An investigation is underway at Reznor’s manufacturing plant in Mercer to determine if it is housing Legionnaires’ disease bacteria, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration acknowledged Monday.

That prompted a quick response from company officials and a union leader that they have seen no evidence of Legionnaires’ disease or bacteria that cause the illness at the plant.

"We got an allegation there were some work-related biological problems at Reznor,’’ said John Stranahan, OSHA area director. "We will get some air and water samples and see what happens.’’

Reznor has conducted its own investigation and, along with results found thus far by OSHA, no evidence of Legionnaires’ bacteria has been found, said Randy Baker, a company spokesman.

The investigation was prompted by a complaint from an employee who became ill and thought it might be Legionnaires’ disease, Baker said.

"They have returned to work and so far as the company knows they did not contract Legionnaires’ disease,’’ Baker said. "There’s just nothing there.’’

Company officials were cooperating fully with OSHA investigators, he added.

Production workers at the plant are represented by United Steelworkers amalgamated Local 5306. Lee Rucker, vice president of the local unit, said he was aware of the OSHA investigation. A company investigation of the plant concentrated on air conditioning filters.

"The company replaced filters and whatever equipment that supposedly might cause a problem,’’ Rucker said. "They took care of it right away. As far as I can tell they did everything on their part to combat any potential problems.’’

No worker has presented the union with a doctor’s report stating they had contracted Legionnaires’ disease, he said.

An OSHA industrial hygienist began collecting samples last week and the investigation will continue this week, Stranahan said. He added OSHA was informed at least one worker may have contracted the disease.

However, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Monday it has no report of anyone in the county recently being diagnosed with the illness.

"We heard rumors of Legionnaires’ disease two weeks ago but after investigating found that there were no such cases in the county,’’ said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the state Health Department. "We did another investigation today (Monday) and again found there were no Legionnaires’ cases in the county.’’

Doctors are required to immediately report any diagnosis of the illness to the Health Department.

"We would be the first to know if there was a case,’’ McGarvey said.

He said he was not allowed to comment on whether the investigation centered around Reznor and its workers. On average 150 Legionnaires’ cases are reported annually in the state.

OSHA is forwarding samples taken from Reznor to its lab in Salt Lake City. Stranahan said he was unsure of how soon final results would be available.

People usually get the disease from bacteria which thrive in water or moisture. The bacteria are most often found in air conditioning units. Human-to-human transmission is uncommon.

Those most susceptible to the disease are the elderly, cancer and AIDS patients, and those with lung diseases or weakened immune systems. The illness can have an incubation period of 10 days to two weeks and symptoms can include flu-like or pneumonia-like symptoms such as diarrhea in the first few days which can be followed by coughing, chest pains, chills, fever, achy joints and headaches.

Most physicians treat the disease with a regimen of strong antibiotics.

Founded in 1888, Reznor’s Mercer plant is among Mercer County’s oldest manufacturers. Reznor, a unit of Memphis-based Thomas & Betts Corp., employs about 300 and produces heaters and other air equipment for the commercial and industrial market under the Reznor brand name.