Toxic mold can negatively impact health at home, at school, or at work. What happens when a worker is exposed to moldy lumber? Find out why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) became involved in this case of toxic mold in the workplace.
Toxic Mold in the Workplace
Steve and his coworkers experienced scratchy throats, shortness of breath, and other symptoms related to toxic mold. Eventually, OSHA stepped in and resolved the situation.
Steve’s Story
I did not make the connection right away. I initially just assumed it was a cold, as others in my area of the store were also sick. After waiting on a customer in the lumber aisle, I noticed a smell coming from a unit of pressure-treated deck boards. I then noticed black mold on most of the boards.
I became suspicious because I suffered from mold-related symptoms in a house I once owned that had mold in the basement. I walked through the lumber department and found additional boards and plywood with black mold. I talked to a lumber associate regarding the moldy lumber.
My associate told me it had been inside the building for a couple of weeks, which was right around the time most of us started feeling ill. He had brought it to the attention of the store manager since he was also sensitive to mold. The store manager pushed it off onto the lumber department manager. Nothing was done.
I brought the concern regarding the mold as well as the air handler unit directly above my desk to the store manager. He said the units were set up for “regular” service. I asked the store maintenance person what he knew about the cleaning of the air units. He told me he didn’t think the filters were changed at the last servicing.
An associate from the opposite side of the building walked by our end of the store and said there was a “smell of dirt” there. As I learned, mold has a “distinct” smell.
I took pictures of all the moldy boards on the store shelf for sale. I even took my girlfriend into the store one evening. She noticed a burning in her throat after just a couple minutes. She manages a rental property. She recognized the odor.
After suffering for the entire month of October with no resolution from the store management, I filed a complaint with OSHA. They sent my employer a letter regarding the complaint. My name was not mentioned. The organization was given a set time to resolve the issues stated. One week after the complaint, all the visibly moldy wood was taken out of the building. Every air handler unit was cleaned and serviced.
(As a footnote . . . the maintenance person told me he looked at the filter from above my desk; it was “dirt brown.”)
Every one of us noticed relief within a couple days of resolving the concerns.
I no longer work there. I resigned my position at the end of 2015, after seven years. I lost my motivation and loyalty after management showed their disregard for the well-being of their associates.
That disregard is unacceptable to me. Employees deserve a safe environment to work in. Their health should not be compromised.
OSHA offers a helpful bulletin on the subject of mold in the workplace, noting that there are currently no federal standards for airborne concentrations of mold or mold spores. Yet the bulletin makes it clear that mold can be a health hazard.
Indoors, mold growth should be avoided. Problems may arise when mold starts eating away at materials, affecting the look, smell, and possibly, with respect to wood-framed buildings, affecting the structural integrity of the buildings.
Molds can grow on virtually any substance, as long as moisture or water, oxygen, and an organic source are present. Molds reproduce by creating tiny spores (viable seeds) that usually cannot be seen without magnification. Mold spores continually float through the indoor and outdoor air.
OSHA even discourages the use of chlorine bleach as a “routine practice during mold remediation.” (See OSHA’s A Brief Guide to Mold in the Workplace.)
Would you like to learn more about toxic mold and its health implications? See A Beginner’s Guide to Toxic Mold.
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Andrea, Is there anyway to report mold in a public building to OSHA and remain anonymous?
I have no idea. Good question, Laurie. It’s worth exploring further.
Yes, OSHA will not publish your name. They contact the employer with the complaint only. Actually, if the employee suspects they are being targeted or harrassed by the employer. OSHA can again interviene.
OSHA told me they don’t investigate mold period to call the Health dept which didn’t do anything either. I work for a doctor and he owns the building and the building smells of mold which is very visible and they refuse to remediate it. suffering employees are serious illnesses but they don’t care, two of us are being forced to file a lawsuit against them as im writing this. More seriously needs to be done regarding this issue
Mold in my office. I had an allergic reaction many times in 3 months. Every time I missed work was with a Drs excuse. I reported this to HR and manager. I was on oral antibiotics,steroids,allergy meds. All different medications for 6 to 8 weeks totally 27 prescriptions. Also daily Atibiotic injection. I called OSHA to report. I was told as long as they are going to fix it. It’s okay. The building smells of sewer gas all the time. Needless to say at my last return I was fired die to missing so many days.
I was dismissed from my workplace in May this year due to ill health. I began working in the old building which had a flat roof and I had been told was condemned in 2010. I was on the top floor and each time there were leaks in my office and other colleagues someone came with a tube of silicone. In 2012 my health began deterorating with sinus infections, chest infections etc and then I had labrynthitus and was off for 7 weeks with that. Next I began to get severe pain in my right shoulder and after 6 months had surgery on a torn rotator cuff due to bone spurs growing in that arm. 4 months after retourning from work I began getting sever abdominal pain and was off for 7 months during that period of sickness leave, my boss had our office moved down to the 4th floor because she found black mould on the carpet climbing up the wall under my desk. I went back to work and my health continued to deteriorate, eventually I have been diagnosed with multiple joint osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. Coincidentally a lady from the office on the top floor opposite me also lost her job through ill health and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia just before me and a man in an office also opposite my had the exact same shoulder surgery just before me. They also had continual problems of the roof leaking. My line manager had problems with her reproductive system needing surgery just before my shoulder surgery and then had hip issues just before I left my job. I now believe that this could all be due to the water damaged building which once again was condemned but people are still working in there. I was in that building for almost 7 years exposed to this. How can I find out if this is due to toxic mould exposure? I mentioned to my dr early on in my final period of sickness but he didn’t seem to be listening to that.
If you have access to the building, you can do a dust sample to get an idea of the types of mold people are breathing. There are controversial urine tests through RealTime Labs, but not everyone agrees they are conclusive. I would suggest an ERMI dust sample taken from the building itself.http://it-takes-time.com/2013/10/17/how-to-test-for-toxic-mold/
I took many samples to a lab that only does environmental testing not remediation, I gave the results to the doctor that I work for and he and his wife still refuse to fix the problem. I’ve been off now for a month refusing to go back until its fixed because we were all so sick. Needless yo say I’ve got my attorney now filing a lawsuit against them and they do not carry workers comp insurance.
Where do you go for legal help when you have all the documentation of types of mold found, medical records, emails from employer and union, and have also been approved for SSDI based on
I’m not sure on that one, Teri. Perhaps someone at Nolo.com can point you in a good direction.
Con’d… Based on permanent disability due to multiple hospital admits starting immediately following my resignation due to a hostile work environment? Please help by advising me who to hire or where to go next.