In July 2019, the Virginia Department of Health and the Chesterfield County Health District notified Chesterfield County government and Chesterfield County Public Schools of a preliminary report showing that Greenfield Elementary School had tested positive for Legionella bacteria.
Legionella bacteria naturally occurs in lakes and streams, but it becomes a health concern when it begins growing in human-made building water systems, including cooling towers.
Following the report of Legionella at Greenfield Elementary, testing was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Chesterfield Health District (CHD). CDC/CHD tested five schools and another seven private facility sites. CDC testing found three schools positive for LP1 and one school with an undetermined type of Legionella, which is indicated as 'blue-white Legionella species' on the test results.
In subsequent testing of five more schools by the county, an additional two schools tested positive.
Prior to August 20, a total of seven schools with cooling towers tested positive. Since then, all CCPS cooling towers have been cleaned.