Re: Travelers plans building upgrades Project comes as more employees complain about

[Guest guest]

I'm sure the employees will never know what is causing

their " mysterious illnesses " , because if Travelers admits

that " mold " caused their illness then they would have to pay out ALL

the claims that are pending and back pay on the claims that they

have denied....

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> Travelers plans building upgrades

> Project comes as more employees complain about mystery illness

> Glens Falls Post-Star - Glens Falls,NY*

> By Don Lehman

> dlehman@...

> Sunday, October 21, 2007

>

>

http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/10/21/news/local/doc471bd8d0d6a

> de311864972.txt

>

> QUEENSBURY -- Amid continuing complaints that Travelers Insurance

> employees believe something in their building is making them sick,

> the company announced Friday it plans to " replace and upgrade " a

> number of heating and cooling units in the company's Northway

Plaza

> office complex.

>

>

>

> Wislocki, a spokeswoman for Travelers, said the heating

and

> cooling work will be done as a " precautionary measure, " and the

> systems have not been found to be responsible for the complaints.

> The work is to begin this weekend, though there is no timetable

for

> completion.

>

>

>

> Two employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity this week

said

> illness complaints they believe are related to the building have

> increased in recent days. The employees said they feared

retribution

> from their employer if their names were published.

>

>

>

> One estimated 10 to 15 people had gone home with unexplained

> illnesses over the past week. The employee said the company

brought

> in " environmental representatives " to talk with employees Friday.

>

> Advertisement

>

> " This has been ongoing since May, " one of the two said Friday

> afternoon. " A lot of people are very discouraged. "

>

>

>

> The building in Northway Plaza was closed for more than three days

> in late May after an apparent odor caused respiratory problems for

> dozens of people over a two-day period.

>

>

>

> Subsequent air tests found no toxic substances,

>

> according to both Wislocki and Bill Dutch, managing partner for

> plaza owner Northway Plaza Associates LLC.

>

>

>

> Wislocki acknowledged Friday that " in the past week we have had

some

> employees reporting they are not feeling well, " but she would not

> say how many people left work because of illness.

>

>

>

> Wislocki said Travelers, which leases the building, has been

working

> with the building's owner to frequently monitor the air since the

> May closure.

>

>

> " Numerous air quality tests have been conducted, and all of the

> results have been within normal levels, " she said. " We are

> continuing to work with the building landlord, outside agencies

and

> our own internal industrial hygiene specialists to make sure our

> building is safe. "

>

>

>

> Dutch said tests were performed this week, looking for things such

> as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and mold.

>

>

>

> Dutch said none of the symptoms the workers have complained of has

> been verified by medical personnel.

>

>

>

> " Conclusively, all of the tests have found nothing that is

> detrimental to anyone's health in the air, " Dutch said. " There's

> also never been any medical documentation of any of these symptoms

> whatsoever. "

>

>

>

> In addition to the heating and cooling system changes, Travelers

> plans to move a number of employees from the basement of its

> Queensbury building, the area where some employees say a majority

of

> the illness complaints have originated. Wislocki said the move was

> being made so that the heating and cooling work could be done.

>

>

> " That (illness reports) is not why we're moving them. We're moving

> them so we can do the work so that we aren't disrupting them, "

> Wislocki said. " We want to make sure it's a safe work environment,

> and we are taking these extra steps. "

>

>

>

> She said the company is also hiring its own maintenance staff and

> will not use outside contractors.

>

> Queensbury Code Enforcement Officer Dave Hatin said his office got

a

> call from a Travelers employee last week detailing concerns about

> the building, but he said at this point the issues were

> environmental and would not be the type of issue the Buildings and

> Codes office handles. He said he contacted Travelers management.

>