(QUOTE=neighjames;great advise) THank you very much for that tip I will contact them today. Nobody hasa even mentioned this organization to me before. This has been a long haul.. if you do come across any other threads regarding illness related to or thought to be related to the gases and dust coming off of the edgers please do forward that to me.Originally Posted by MikeAurelius
Oh I know we are known for being very green here. TO an extent that is true. However this business slides right under the radar. I think because it is so small compared to say the folks who were exposed to asbestos which was huge and had lots of union folks affected, there was power there. I know that the dust sludge that collects in the case of the shop I worked in (in a large plastic box) is considered Toxic Waste. But it just gets thrown in the garbage. What throws me here is that it is considered TOxic Waste, yet when it comes to breathing it in, "Oh no, not toxic"! Kind of laughable.
I guess it is considered gray water waste, is that what you mean by it being considered toxic waste? My interest is piqued. Where is the official labeling of it as toxic?
I had never heard of a MSDS sheet until after I got lung cancer. Nor had anybody who worked in the shop that I did. My friends in the trades told me. When I called Zeiss and Essilor to get the sheets they put me straight through to their top litigator and refused. Interesting thought I. I persisted Zeiss sent theirs. The scientist who wrote it was listed with email, I believe that is where the reference to the plastic sludge (if it is collected in a big plastic box as it was in the shop I worked in) or just rinsed down the drain as I imagine it is in most shops. Anyway that is where I believe I came across the "Should be handled as Toxic Waste" sentence. I will go through my stuff and try to locate it exactly. Essilor would not release the MSDS sheets. After the blow off three times from their Top Litigator! I got a call one morning. "Is this NeighJames" yes, "THis is the TOp Safety Engineer from Essilor and I have you on conference call with our Top Litigator." Mmmm Hmm. "Are you recording this call?" Oh said I is that the game we are playing, no..........are you? "We will never release that information to you, ever." Okay, I told him if his intention was to look guilty as hell, he had managed it, and that of course I would get the MSDS sheets. As you can imagine my suspicions were triply piqued! Now this is Australian MSDS sheets (referring to the TOxic Waste" I was told that all high index lenses should be cut with extraction ventilation, but that that was Australia and I was in the United States or United Corporations whichever you like. (My words).
I'd like to know whom you spoke to with Carl Zeiss Vision who refused to provide you with an MSDS sheet, which our technical or customer service department has always made freely available to any eyecare professional or optical laboratory upon a simple request. So please email me with the details, and I will ensure that this person is made aware of the proper procedure.
Of course, if you called up Carl Zeiss or Essilor requesting information regarding your "forthcoming personal injury lawsuit" then, yes, I imagine that the sensible thing for any company to do would be to defer you to an attorney. Although it sounds as though your primary concerns are whether your employer properly handled materials and followed OSHA guidelines.
Best regards,
Darryl
Darryl J. Meister, ABOM
Dear Darryl, I cannot tell you the name, I of course did not mention anything regarding a law suit as I was merely trying to see the MSDS sheets at that time. All I know is that when I requested MSDS sheets I was immediately put through to the person who is the Top Litigator of the Company. I believe it was a woman. I made the request twice, mentioning that it wasn't secret information and should be public and that I would get it anyway so please help. It was then on the third phone request that the MSDS sheets were sent to me. As mentioned the scientist in Australia who wrote the MSDS sheets was listed as the author and had a listed email address. I corresponded with him for some time. I was really trying to understand what proper ventilation is as again mentioned before the sheets are extremely vague about ventilation. (There was none in the shop I worked in, nothing). When I pressed him to be exact he responded Extraction Ventilation, but added that this was the program or protocol in Australia, and that I was in the United States. Why on earth there should be different safety measures taken in Australia vs the United States is quite beyond me. I had the opportunity to have my sister visit the Jorgenson Lab in Tacoma Washington. The Jorgenson Lab is a major Lab, they do all of the work that small shops without edgers do not. The protocol there was this, the lab techs were reaching into enclosed plastic boxes with gloves attached to the outside of the box (sealed) there was Extraction Ventilation. On top of this the guide informed my sister that they were going to be installing a gizmo in the floor that the workers would stand on periodically during the day to determine if any particulate matter was on their bodies. Quite extreme I would say. I have tried to talk to John Jorgenson repeatedly but he will not take my calls (he has known me for years and wholesales lenses to the company I worked for, it would seem to be a conflict of interests. You can see why I am feeling that there is some very suspicious behavior happening in this industry. I am sorry that I can not tell you the exact name of the Litigator at Zeiss. All I know is that I got the same exact treatment only much worse from Essilor. My ambition here is to see that the industry embraces safer work environments for the people who are exposed now to gases and repirable particulate matter, so that they are not exposed to these things and so that they do not get sick or get cancer. I will not have the time to have a personal law suit as my 3 year time frame is soon to be over. So it was a very innocent request on my part met by a surprising response on the other end. I hope that clarifies matters for you. I will be honest with you, I always knew in my gut that what I was being exposed to was bad business. I repeatedly over the years would complain to my boss and say you have got to be kidding me, this cannot be safe. He would respond "toughen up cupcake". No one seems to care and all of my research is probably for naught.
Also Darryl for the record at the time that I requested the MSDS sheets I was home recovering from some very serious surgery. I had not terminated as an employee. I had a third of my right lung removed (the lowest lobe). I have Muscular Dystrophy and the type of surgery required deeply affected my body as the upper portion of my body is most involved with that disease. Also for the record a year before I went out another employee was stricken with MS. When I gave the most rudimentary toxin report to her to show her doctor, her doctor was pretty horrified and said that had she know of these exposure that she would have had her out of there years ago. She was a dispensing optician at the shop for 18 years. Another employee who has moved on who cut the lenses directly was chronically ill with bronchial problems. He was fired for missing so much work. I was able to locate him and now that he is out of the business he no longer has bronchial issues.
Smells like money to me.
Yeah - $$$$$ here. This isn't even an optical conversation now. I have never personally had a problem getting MSDS sheets from anyone - I imagine I could get one for tap water. Sorry for people's ills but I don't buy it.
This story is becoming more and more preposterous...
Wesley S. Scott, MBA, MIS, ABOM, NCLE-AC, LDO - SC & GA
“As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.” -Albert Einstein
I call B.S.:
I had the opportunity to have my sister visit the Jorgenson Lab in Tacoma Washington. The Jorgenson Lab is a major Lab, they do all of the work that small shops without edgers do not. The protocol there was this, the lab techs were reaching into enclosed plastic boxes with gloves attached to the outside of the box (sealed) there was Extraction Ventilation. On top of this the guide informed my sister that they were going to be installing a gizmo in the floor that the workers would stand on periodically during the day to determine if any particulate matter was on their bodies. Quite extreme I would say.
a few months ago i got acute bronchitis stemming from "Industrial Vapor and gas". my lungs haven't been the same since.
Then please provide me with the name of the "top litigator" with whom you spoke, and I can find out from him or her. (I don't know that we directly employ any "litigators," and the two or three company attorneys we do directly employ are in Germany, so it would be helpful if you could clarify the specific attorney.)
Best regards,
Darryl
Darryl J. Meister, ABOM
Exactly. The alleged claims by neighjames do not pass the smell test, particularly the obvious phony claim that he was transfered to a 'top litigator' for simply asking for MSDS sheets and the 'Extraction Ventilation'. I don't know what game he is tying to play, but he can play it somewhere else from now on.
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Do you know what law firm that was that sent out the Pamphlet ?
That would be Dewey, Cheatem & Howe.
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