I have worked in a governmental facility for over a year now. During the past year, I have had the most severe, upper respiratory infections of my life, include one hospitalization and two emergency visits that required steroid usage to prevent my throat from closing from inflammation. I have also had the worse migraines/sinus headaches/sinusitis the entire time. I have missed a considerable amount of work (which looks bad because I’ve worked for less than a year). My medical records will show that I have never had any issues with allergens. I know that there is ‘contained’ asbestos in our building and there is a chance of mold. I was speaking with coworkers and they said people that have previously been in my office have had similar upper respiratory infections/problems.

I spoke with my supervisor about the consistency of my illnesses and am trying to see if the ducts can be tested or even cleaned, but are there any other options? As I mentioned, I have been off work off-and-on, one time for over a week, due to the severity of my illnesses. My physicians have been unable to explain why I have been getting so sick and it wasn’t until a coworker mentioned my office causing these similar problems that I thought it could be work related. I just want to try and validify my absences if possible, as I’ve gotten a warning about being gone so often, but I literally feel like I’m going to die when I do get sick, and its at least every 3 months. Its like I can’t get rid of it!

Advice?

My brother works for a company that installs some kind of communication wiring in ceilings of buildings. He came down sick about a month ago and doctors cannot find the cause. Nausea, heart palpitations, dizziness, fainting feeling, respiration problems etc. Doctors have ran all kinds of test and are unable to come up with anything.

My question is, could this be related to something he may have been exposed to while working, like mold or bat droppings, something along those lines? He does not fit the criteria for asbestos. I think there is a strong possibility of this. Where would he go to have this checked out? Doctors are not that interested in this theory, not that I am any way saying they are not doing their job, just that the doctors don’t seem to know how to investigate this, health wise. What test to run and all of that. Is there any agency that deals with this kind of thing? Where could he go for this?

My first born daughter was born with a life threatening illness which required us to relocate our family to Boston. We hired a realtor to find us a rental home. Long story short once we got moved into the home realized it was mold infested and full of asbestos. The house was condemned by the health dept. and we had to scramble to find a new place to live. We had paid our entire savings to move into this rental house and didn’t get a cent back. I became so stressed and full of anger I came close to a total emotional breakdown. It took a toll on my marriage, my family, etc… AFTER we were already stressed with our new born sick baby and moving anyway. We’ve since won a lawsuit against them

But the question is, how do I let my hate and anger go that I feel for that realtor? I’ve accepted that maybe the homeowner didn’t know or whatever. But the realtor has over 25 years experience and definitely should have known. I HATE that woman for causing us that kind of stress but I feel like I can’t forgive her without somehow understanding WHY she did what she did. Personal contact is illegal since we pursued legal action.

Any insights into how to forgive that woman without any understanding as to WHY she did that to us?
It’s not usual for renters to have housing inspections done on rental property.
Look people, the question is how to forgive? Not we should have, she should have. The case is done through court.

The question is how does one find a way to let go of justified anger and clear the heart?

Should i keep working for my uncle? He works with boilers gas asbestos and all that boiler stuff like baseboards. The problem is i am allergic to dust mold and all that other stuff. The big thing that concerns me is i have alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency. Since i have that i really should avoid dust mold and cigarette smoke which he smokes. Should i just stop? I think if i keep working with him i will get emphysema not in 30s but late 20s. I tried a mask but it really dosent help with my allergies.

My job relocated from a clean modern building with great maintenance and security, to a dirty rodent infested building that’s at least 40 years old because it was more cost effective.

The water fountains are turned off because of the lead pipes. There are mouse dropping in my cubicle everyday and the whole office is coated in a strange white powder. The building has repeatedly been sited by the health department but nothing has been done.

OSHA has tested the powder and says its not Legionaries Disease, which one of our other buildings did have, and its not asbestos, even though a contractor left the building and refused to complete repairs on our AC claiming the building had asbestos. They says it has a high mold content but that’s not something they deal with.

A lot of people in the building have a persistent cough and my desk is right under a vent so I not only have a cough but have horrible headaches as well.

I currently have to wipe my desk off with bleach wipes everyday just to keep the dust off my clothes. The dust is so thick when I come to work on Mondays that you can write in it. Plus its not like regular dust as its grainy. I really think this stuff is dangerous but I can’t afford to quit and look for a new job.

What can I do to find out what this stuff is? And how can I protect myself?

I’ve been looking at gas masks lateley because in the coming months, I’ll be cleaning out at least 1 mold filled trailer and probably encounter more asbestos than I’d like to try to filter through a handkerchief. I just have a question about the NBC filters. After a few hours of use, can they be cleaned out and reused, or will I have to buy replacements regularly?

Serious answers only folks