Emergency crews are cleaning up a West Side lab that tests for potentially deadly diseases and biological agent threats after a water pipe break Sunday flooded the building, according to a health department spokeswoman.
Around 10 a.m., a water pipe burst at a building housing the Illinois Department of Public Heath Chicago Laboratory at 2121 W. Taylor St. in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood, according to department spokeswoman Divya Mohan Little. The lab is one of three in the state where the health department carries out testing for a range of health concerns, including Zika virus, Ebola, salmonella, E. coli, listeria, influenza, measles, tuberculosis, meningitis, rabies, cystic fibrosis, plague and lead poisoning.
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The lab also performs testing for newborns. The other two are in Springfield and Carbondale.
The lab was closed at the time, however there were some maintenance staff and a few lab personnel at the site, Mohan Little said. The flooding didn’t raise any health concerns for staff, she said.
The Chicago Fire Department confirmed no one was harmed in the incident.
As of Sunday evening, the flooding didn’t present any biohazard to the public, though the health department notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Central Management Services. The flooding, however, damaged several areas of the laboratory and pieces of equipment, and crews were working to prepare the facility to resume operations Monday.
“We are still assessing the extent of the damage and will have more information when the lab resumes its functions tomorrow,” Mohan Little said.
The pipe burst below ground level, and the ensuing flooding caused an alarm to malfunction, Fire Department authorities said.
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