Question from Erik Harper
I have a dilemma that I would like your opinion on and hopefully other readers have run into this issue as well. I’m a web designer and work in an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and recently learned that they are going to be renovating the floor where I work. Technically this is leased office space by the US government, so it is not a government-owned and operated building, but the agency I work with does have somewhat of a say in how the buildings are renovated. I am a contractor on-site and have gone through channels to try and shed some light on the decision making process, but have been told that the renovations are being carried out to OSHA and EPA standards and that they are doing nothing wrong in their choices of renovation materials. Which basically means I have no say in the air I breathe.
In the elevator lobby of my floor they have already completed new wallpaper covering and the smell is unbearable. The chlorine offgassing is so strong I have to hold my breath when I walk through the area. They have started ventilating the space which has made it much better in there, but I am deeply concerned about being around this nasty stuff 40 hours a week. They are redoing carpeting and wallpaper and in areas where there are cabinets, they are replacing them with your typical MDF, which I can already tell has plenty of formaldehyde from the smell that they emit.
Has anyone run into this issue in their place of work? How have you handled this? I have been told by my immediate supervisor (from my company, who is a contractor of the government) that any further action I take is without their support (this is of course after I went through the appropriate agency contact, in which response I’ve mentioned in the first paragraph). Since it appears that I can’t stop the renovation from happening and convincing them to choose less toxic materials (which is what my original goal was), are there any measures I can take to ensure the air I’m breathing won’t endanger my health? Air purification? VOC removal?
I suffer from mild asthma and am somewhat sensitive with allergies, mainly seasonal, but I do get headaches and dizziness when smelling the offgassing of the vinyl wallpaper. Any suggestions and similar experiences are much appreciated!
Erik
Debra’s Answer
This is why I work at home!
I understand your concern and encourage you to do whatever you can to protect your body from these toxic chemicals. I’m not sure they “are not doing anything wrong” but apparently what they are doing meets current laws, which are inadequate.
Many years ago I worked in a toxic office doing temp work, and I just brought a big air filter and put it on my desk. It was in a large open room, I didn’t have a private office. It created enough of a “cloud” of clean air that I managed to work there for a couple of weeks. And other workers would come hang out at my desk during breaks because they felt better in my cloud of clean air.
If it were me, I would find a way to not be in the building while they are doing the renovations and for some time afterwards. If you can’t work something out with them, I think it’s better to find another job than make your health worse and then have to take the time and expense to recover. Since you are a web designer, will they let you work at home?
Many people, like me, have home-based businesses. Many web designers work from home. Maybe it’s time to rethink how you work and put a healthy work environment as the number one priority and see how you can make money around that. That was the decision I made more than twenty years ago and it’s worked out very well for me.
