Re: Agraquest got an employee sick

More | Report Post

On 8/18/04, dave wrote:
> (David, CA.)
> Agraquest got me ill from exposure to pathogens and
> allergens and set me out the door, layed off. I have been
> sick many years.
>
> I filed worker's comp. and now the company slanders me by
> saying I was fired. However, I received severance pay of
> one month and no dismissal letter. I never expected for
> other scientist to do this to me. I thought workplace
> safety was of the highest concern.
>
> I need to find an attorney and other former employees to
> file a class action lawsuit to prevent this from happening
> to other laboratory workers.

still sick.

What ever happened to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA);
Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories
(BMBL); The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act?

This stuff Serenade, Bacillus subtilis, was weighed up in the
hallway and a bathroom. There are NIOSH exposure limits and
this proteolytic enzyme is restricted to a Class 1 containment
at minimum.

The company's own documents state:

Serenade^TM WP was evaluated in a 4-hour, whole
body, acute inhalation study in male and female Sprague-Dawley
rats.The maximum concentration (MC) which could be aerosolized
was 0.63 milligrams per liter (mg/L), which gave a median
aerodynamic particle size of less than 0.4 . No mortality was
noted during the study. Some of the clinical abnormalities
noted in one or more animals were transient incidences of
salvation, breathing abnormalities, decreased activity, wobbly
gait, apparent hypothermia, hunched posture, decreased
defecation, urine stain, decreased food consumption, and dark
material around the facial area. Bwt loss was noted for three
female rats (one during the 0-7 day interval, and two during
the 7-14 day interval). However, this was a slight bwt loss
and was not considered to be biologically significant.

http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/fung-nemat/aceticacid-etridiazole/bacillus_subtilis/bt_petition.html

Here are two 1969 articles about detergent enzymes:

Flindt, M. H. L., "Pulmonary Disease Due to Inhalation of
Derivatives of Bacillus subtilis Containing Proteolytic
Enzyme." The Lancet, (1969), pp. 1177-1181.

Pepys, J. et al., "Allergic Reactions of the Lungs to Enzymes
of Bacillus subtillis." The Lancet, (1969), pp. 1181-1184.

When is somebody going to do something about this illegal
conduct?

It does not make common sense to have a mucus membrane
irritant and microbiology/pesticide/insecticide/fungicide
research in the same room without telling your employees about
the hazard.

My medical bills add up to over $500,000. I get an IV every 28
days. Surely, this is not normal.