Breathing in Fumes at work?

Question

At work the furnace blows out these fumes that give me a headache, make me light headed, and sick to my stomach. The company doesn't do anything about it because they say all furnaces make that smell. Even though my furnace doesn't make that smell. Anyway I went to Urgent Care and got treated for Carbon Monoxide poisoning. By the time they drew my blood the carbon count was low. It wasn't high enough to be considered a poisoning. Is there anything I can do legally since I will not go back to work until they fix the problem with the fumes coming out of the furnace. I refuse to go to work and get sick every day because of the fumes they have blowing on us.
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

First off... Carbon monoxide is invisible, odorless, and tasteless.... In a manufacturing environment, there are many sources of "fumes" or "smells". Some people are bothered more by them than others. For example, Ive known some folks who could not tolerate working in a plastic injection mold shop, because of the smell of the plastic, even tho it was harmless.

If your boss hear's you complain about the "fumes" making you sick, the boss is apt to write it off as your inability to tolerate standard work environment.

The symptoms you describe, however, are consistent with carbon monoxide exposure. If there is CO gas present, it is not safe for anyone to be in there.

I can think of a few approaches... get a CO monitor and take it to work., Call the fire department, and ask a Marshall to come over and inspect the facility, or contact your state branch of OSHA, about the conditions.

Do not simply refuse to goto work -- this leaves yourself open to disciplinary action. The problem needs to be identified, verified, and acted upon. After all, you wouldnt want to discover a friend of yours died on the job because you failed to do something about it, would you?

Good Luck

Answer 2

Your best bet would be to tell your supervisor that you are prego's and go from there, don't wait for HR. If the fumes bother you that much take more breaks away from the fumes, your supervisor cannot really fault you for not feeling well when the fumes are present. You have to let someone of authority know of your situation ASAP so that they can help you. As far as already hurting the baby you would have to check with your DR. and let them know of the situation and go from there. I hope everything works out for you

Answer 3

Purchase a cheap over the counter CO detector (Kidde comes to mind as a reasonably priced battery powered unit).
For your bosses information, Smeeling flue gasses is not "normal" in any way shape or form. It is usually indicative of an improper drafting condition or disconnected flue. The improper drafting can be as minor as a blockage that can be cleared for the cost of a general maintenance Cleaning, usually less than $200. Flue seperation is another low dollar repair and may be able to be done by their own maintenance staff.
If the CO detector goes off or, f digital< the reading goes in excess of 100PPM call the fire department and let them deal with it.
* Fire dept.s put on air bottles at 35 PPM

EXPOSURE LIMITS

* OSHA PEL

The current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) for carbon monoxide is 50 parts per million (ppm) parts of air (55 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m(3))) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) concentration [29 CFR Table Z-1].

* NIOSH REL

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established a recommended exposure limit (REL) for carbon monoxide of 35 ppm (40 mg/m(3)) as an 8-hour TWA and 200 ppm (229 mg/m(3)) as a ceiling [NIOSH 1992].

* ACGIH TLV

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has assigned carbon monoxide a threshold limit value (TLV) of 25 ppm (29 mg/m(3)) as a TWA for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek [ACGIH 1994, p. 15].

* Rationale for Limits

The NIOSH limit is based on the risk of cardiovascular effects [NIOSH

The ACGIH limit is based on the risk of elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels [ACGIH 1991, p. 229].

Answer 4

Call the state labor board with your complaint. Let them know about the furnace and the fumes they willl probably send someoneout to investigate.

Answer 5

It's probably the smell from the elemnents that have been sitting for a while. They do the same thingt @ my work until they get going a while.

Legally you could quit, I suppose!

Answer 6

If it's that bad, you should contact OSHA. That's what they do, investigate hazardous work conditions.

http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/index.html

Answer 7

Report it to OSHA they are required to follow guidelines for safe working conditions for employees.

Answer 8

I'd speak to a lawyer. It's neglect that you complained and they did nothing.

Answer 9

Get another job.

Answer 10

Get over it.