CLEVELAND, Mar 19, 2001 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Crews Monday disinfected water sources at the Ford Motor Co. casting plant in Brook Park near Cleveland after the deaths of two employees from Legionnaires' disease.

The 48-year-old plant was closed Wednesday and all 2,500 employees told to go home after county health officials confirmed three cases of the bacterial disease. Two workers, David Hinderman, 53, and Donald Rafoya, 61, died from Legionnaires', two others were diagnosed with infections and three other plant workers were suffering from pneumonia.

Samples of water from the plant were being tested by the Centers for Disease Control and results were expected in a few days.

Meanwhile, some plant workers joined cleaning service crews that spent the weekend disinfecting water sources at the facility with a strong bleach solution.

A Ford spokesman said the plant would reopen after the cleanup was completed, possibly as early as Tuesday.

"They're taking a painstaking view here," Ford spokesman Ed Lewis told Monday's Plain Dealer. "They're not trying to rush things."

Health officials said the Legionella bacteria could be harbored in a cooling tower that is part of the plant's heating system but also could breed in water fountains, showers and air conditioning systems.

Legionnaires' disease can be contracted by inhaling mist from contaminated water. Legionnaires' was first recognized in 1976 when an outbreak killed 34 people who attended an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

Ford placed a full-page ad in the Cleveland Plain Dealer updating the community on the situation at the plant. Residents living near the facility had expressed concern over possible dangers to their health.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

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