News Conference
3 pm, Wednesday, September 10, 2003
1422 Kensington Rd. NW, Suite 300
with: John Carpenter, Counsel for UNA, Michelle Senkow, UNA Vice-President Local #115, Foothills Medical Centre, Karen Rollins of Indoor Air Quality Management, Prof. Tang Lee, Nurses who have experienced illness on the unit
Media Release
For Immediate Release
September 10, 2003
Nurses taking Calgary Region to court
to solve mould problem at Foothills
What are they trying to hide? UNA asks
United Nurses of Alberta is applying to Court asking that an independent expert be permitted to conduct an investigation to get to the bottom of what is causing illness on the Unit 27 dialysis ward at the Foothills Hospital. UNA is also asking the Court to quash a decision by Alberta Workplace Health and Safety unilaterally disbanding the joint technical committee that was investigating concerns about environmental illness at the Foothills.
More than 60 Registered nurses have experienced health problems on the dialysis unit at the Foothills. Other Employees have also been affected.
“They have refused to let our independent environmental investigators into the building and now this joint committee is being disbanded,” notes Michelle Senkow, Vice-President of the UNA Local at the Foothills. “What are they trying to hide?” she asks. “This is a serious health concern. Staff have been experiencing illnesses for years now. Frankly, we do not trust the Health Region to get to the source of the problem. The Health Region has blocked us from conducting a thorough and independent investigation.”
The technical committee found potentially toxigenic mould, but now Workplace Health and Safety are saying the Region has to find the cause and clean it up, without any third party checks on the process.
“Outside experts need to be a part of this and ensure the problems are finally solved,” Senkow says. “We want our experts to check any remediation to be sure it is adequate.”
"We are asking the Court for an order permitting Professor Tang Lee, a recognized expert in this area, to check the building and to check the results of the Region's remediation efforts," says John Carpenter, the lawyer who is filing the case on behalf of the nurses. "We are also asking the Court to set aside the decision of Workplace Health and Safety disbanding the technical committee."
The technical committee found three instances of stachybotrys chartarum as well as instances of other potentially toxigenic fungi. The committee agreed to follow Health Canada guidelines that stipulate that further investigation should take place when toxigenic fungi are found.
Nurses and other Employees have experienced a number of different illnesses ranging from headaches, respiratory problems, nosebleeds and other symptoms.
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For more information: Michelle Senkow, Vice-President UNA Local #115
Foothills Medical Centre (237-2377).
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