Marc Edwards' team found Legionella pneumophila in Beaverville, Illinois, water samples at levels 129 times the CDC's immediate-response threshold after retesting; no residual chlorine was detected at two homes. Resident Kathleen Butron sought a cluster investigation.
Edwards' team collected samples Aug. 22–23 and presented its findings Aug. 31 to EPA Region 5, the Illinois EPA and Butron. On Sept. 2, Butron asked state and county health officials to investigate a possible community cluster, sample more homes, reconsider pneumonia diagnoses as possible cases and warn about showers or other water uses that create aerosols. Legionnaires' disease is generally contracted by inhaling contaminated droplets, including shower mist.
Butron and three relatives developed respiratory illnesses; her 87-year-old mother-in-law later died after a diagnosis of probable pneumonia. The article does not establish that these illnesses were Legionnaires' disease or caused by the water. ABC News previously reported that the Illinois EPA attributed the discoloration to elevated manganese and iron and said the water was safe to drink; Butron separately wrote that residents had been told not to drink it.
