# No ventilation = sure bet for cancer.



## ThreadHead99 (Jun 10, 2013)

I worked for a shop for many years, not as a screen printer- but I was i the same building.
My workplace saw it fit to not install any mechanical ventilation other than a few open windows and the little pipe over the conveyor dryer at the end. Otherwise, the printing fumes would take over the building on a daily basis- screne opener, glues, plastisol inks, toner aide, screen wash, emulsion, DTG inks, heat pressed vinyl lettering and *lots* of methylene chloride in a can to take those athletic letters off (used without facemasks and regulation gloves- we would get it all over our hands and breathe it in and put it o a heat press and the magic chemical clouds would go right in our faces) We used that with no adequate protection. again- NO MECHANICAL VENTILATION is in this shop. No fresh air. Our printers also had no idea of proper practice so every day was a virtual chemistry class of "lets see what works". The ceiling and fixtures looks like someone had sprayed the lint up there, the shop was horribly dusty and dirty all the time.
So every day, after 9-10 hours, I would go home to my family ( I even worked here pregnant) and they could smell the building on me, in my hair.
Always, I was told the chemicals were safe. Well they weren't. 
Everything the building used, wasn't ventilated. 3 presses, flash units, a conveyor dryer, heat press, - NO VENTILATION. The food was kept right next to the inks, and regularly things like reducer and inks were put in the employee fridge. No worries- it's all safe!!!! I wound up having reproductive problems right off the bat when I started working there... which eventually led to a hormone positive breast cancer- very agressive and spread to my lymph nodes like wildfire. My liver was lit up like a Christmas tree at diagnosis due to something causing my liver to go crazy. I worked all through chemo (with the 4 tumors still inside me) right next to the SR-97 spot remover- a product that has a warning label that says "People with tumors should not be working with this product"---of course that was on it's MSDS- which none were ever provided. 
I didn't find this out till later on. I had 2 clear breast exams when I started working there, 4 years later I have 4 large tumors in my breast and armpit.
I lived a clean life, vegetarian, yoga, veggies, holistic- I didn't even drink my local tap water or use plastic in my home. 
Again- I was NOT a printer in this building, but subjected to so much bad air and garbage as an office person and embroiderer. If I brought the smell or fumes up, I was told to "stop reading labels"..... and that it was safe.
Then I got very sick.
Let this be a warning- the industry walks around treating these chemicals and materials like they are no big deal. No big deal + No ventilation= problems.

Needless to say after a double mastectomy, lymph node removal in both armpits and being horribly disfigured- I was not going back to work- but thankfully my boss fired me in the middle of treatment and let me go so I wouldn't have to walk into that place ever again.
No safety at all is implemented. and I cannot sue. Or get any gainful employment anymore due to my permanent arm damage from tumors. 

If your shop does not implement ventilation, either tell them to or quit. 
Stupid tshirts are not worth your health!!! 
There are many other shops like the one I worked in and NOBODY- not even a dog- deserves to work in an environment like that. I was so scared to walk away from a good job and benefits but this crap isn't worth it.
and to the bosses who poison your employees for the sake of $$$- I hope they sleep well at night knowing this.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

I’m sorry this happened to you. It is a problem with a lot of work places but what do you do…say something and be labeled a troublemaker and maybe lose your job, or find another if you can. I remember one of my first jobs working in what they call a job shop, doing drawings for the automotive field. This was back when you could smoke at your desk at work. I didn’t, but I don’t think it mattered. By mid day the room was so full of smoke you could kneel down on the floor and there was a line in the air at desk height where the smoke started and the cleaner are was closer to the floor. I remember coming home and having to leave my coat outside because of the smell of cigarette smoke, and my coat wasn’t in the same room where I worked. I didn’t stay there very long because of this issue, I glad I left but I do wonder now if this is part of the reason when I get a cold it takes so long to get rid of it. 
I hope things getter better for you and some of the people reading your post will thing about getting better ventilation in their places of business. And for the ones that do this already, thank you for thinking about the long term effects on your employees.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

There are some social consciousness issues so under the circumstances you described there is a chance that I'd sue for the unfortunate medical expenses, for the trauma it caused, and among other to protect colleagues still working for the company.

And its not the stupid tshirts but rather stupid decision makers.


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## ThreadHead99 (Jun 10, 2013)

T Shirts were our goal. Anything to get the tshirts done. 
and paid for. 
In my mind, I'm not a fan. 

I cannot sue.
The boss pays off OSHA and the fire inspectors because he's a good old boy and knows everyone whose anyone. He should have been fined up and down and only got a slap on the wrist with NO fines.

and My oncologist says that anything could have caused my cancer, so there's no causation. I hve no lawsuit.
Boss doesn't get in trouble, I get fired for speaking up, people are STILL working there.

If had a different cancer, and a doctor that says I got cancer from work, then I could have done something- otherwise NO. Nobody knows what causes breast cancer despite the studies that show it 100%. OSHA themselves have regulations regarding medical surveillance if you have methylene chloride in your building.
Yet google methylene chloride and breast cancer and you see lab results of breast tumors rampant in rats.
But of course that didn't cause my cancer. Ofc ourse not. We protect chemical companies.
Who did we order the cans of methylene chloride from?
Stahls.
The sponsor of the safety part of these forums. 
Funny.

South Korea even recognized occupational breast cancer in Samsung plants where the worker who died was constantly around methylene chloride (SR-97), Trichoroethylene (Toner Aide) and Benzene (screen opener) in the semi-conductor rooms.
Same chemicals. and those rooms were ventilated.
And it was bad. 

I don't have to explain it again.
These chemicals are horrible.
How do you own a shop and turn a blind eye to your employees health? Especially when they are pregnant?

No ventilation. NONE.

And Nobody gets in trouble for this. and I still pay all these medical bills and watch my kids terrified because they don't want mommy's cancer to come back.

My only recourse is to sit and wait for karma at this point.


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## BryanR (Dec 20, 2012)

go to the media with the story, they are always looking for things like this. it will get pushed up until someone has to do something. If you are still close with anyone working there, see if they will take pictures for you and send them to you. nobody should be able to get away with unsafe conditions, no matter how much money they have.


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## ThreadHead99 (Jun 10, 2013)

I have photographs. Lots of them. They were legally taken while I was still out on disability and I needed to stop by and get some of my possessions anyway. The business' own website has photographs of the shop on it and no ventilation is to be seen anywhere.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

Unless there is at least one more person from your company who acquired some of the same medical condition as you have, you will indeed have difficulty proving your case("beyond reasonable doubt") especially if the products or its ingredients are not banned, prohibited or not classified as unsafe. Then there is the cost of litigation.

Media may be a good way to go about it if you want to inseminate information but they prioritize the news. 

Isn't there a government agency where you can "report the incident" so they can look into the problem. Granted that he has lots of connection, maintaining these connection will costs him money either now or later. If you can let your colleagues and other people know your plight then you have partly succeeded. 

But in the end, going on with one's life isn't a bad decision.


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## ThreadHead99 (Jun 10, 2013)

My life was ruined. "Getting on with my life" is easier said than done. 

The lackadaisical attitude in this industry regarding chemicals is really awesome. 
If you think this isn't a big deal, wait till someone else gets cancer. Read up on estrogen positive breast cancer. caused by ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS. 
endocrine disruptors? what are those?
f&%$ing chemicals. 
everything in my building.
we had 6 employees total. One guy was out all the time with asthma attacks. he stood right over that spray glue 9 hours a day.

this industry has a serious problem with giving a ****, it seems. 
Another worker who was also pregnant also has a child with problems. My child has problems. 
Problem is its a small company, employees don't last long and I was the only person working there besides the manager and his phantom chest pains at any length. 

But my cancer wasn't caused by my work. The place I spent 50 hours a week in.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

First off I will say I am sorry to hear about your cancer. The methylene chloride is a regulated product and requires ventilation. http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/methylenechloride/. Its in the spot remover in most products and a ventilator is required. Anyone using a spot remover should not be using this product without direct ventilation or outside. Period

You will not get a doctor to say this caused your cancer as then they open theirselves up and their insurance companies won't allow these type of claims. My stepmother passed at the age of 46 from cancer. They lady never smoked, drank, or used drugs. Lived a fairly healthy lifestyle and worked is a retail store. It was a rare form of bone cancer that is uaslly tied to chemical exposure yet she never worked or was around any of the chemicals that caused this cancer in lavatory animals. 

I personally do all the printing in my shop and use all the enviro chemicals from Franmar. Glove up even when handling them. I use streams from the spray bottles as a sray pattern will atomize the chemical into air. I use as little spot cleaner as possible and have a direct vent machine. Any product that will get you "high" when using either needs a ventilator or may even require some type of scrubber. 

Not trying to shift or put blame in this sentence but any job I have ever worked at if I was asked to do something unsafe or expose myself to hazardous materials without proper recautions I either demanded proper equipment, or safe procedures or I just walked out. I even would look up the stuff while at work as part of the job. A job has never been worth putting my health or life in jeopardy. 

There are a lot of chemicals in our industry that shouldn't be used. Most can be replaced with safer alternatives at the same price. Anyone working, owning a shop needs to look at keeping 
themselves or any employees safe. If anyone is asked to use chemicals improperly or unsafe then they must demand proper use. If you don't know get the MSDS sheet and look it up a employer must have these available and let a employee read. If they aren't call OSHA anomalously. This is a huge violation in its self.


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## ThreadHead99 (Jun 10, 2013)

I understand... and I was concerned. But over and over and over - I was told it was ok. My manager has been doing this for 20 years and he always said "if it was bad for you I would be sick by now".
Mind you my boss and manager were not in the biz for the love of art, or creating things creatively, it is just a money maker.
They still use the same techniques and chemicals since 1993, eco-friendly is too expensive for them, and they do nothing to improve their rechniques, or shop or anything. Shows come and go, they never took a class or bothered to look up on anything cutting edge was coming out.
Ventilation wasn't even in their sights.
When I tell you we have full cans of methylene chloride all over our hands, and clothes--- I am not joking.
There isn't much on an MSDS sheet. OSHA however has a laundry list of precautions.

I called OSHA. It's what the real reason I was fired for.
I found out that hey purposely printed selected jobs that day using things that wouldnt make too much smoke, and the methylene chloride they did get fined for, but it was slap on the wrist. When I contested it to OSHA, they couldn't do anything because the "levels in the air test" weren't high enough. They hid the big cans and all that was left out was the spot gun. That was also used without ventilation, and by food, as well as in a shop vac whose exhaust recirculated into your breathing space.
OSHA did NOTHING.

because they had pre-knowledge and cleaned a ton of stuff up.

Again- I was NOT a printer. I just worked in the building as an embroiderer. Had I even known benzene was being used in the building, I would have quit. 
I brought it up many times.
My response was always "Everything causes cancer. You are fine. Don't worry"
Customers complained of the smell and burning eyes.
The response was always "That's the heating system that smells. It's not the chemicals".
Their solution? 
Buy apple pie scented roof vent filters. Now the whole building smells like chemical apple pie. 
this is the smarts of these people.
I worked for idiots. Total idiots with a lot of money.


and this is why you go into printing because you love the work, not because you can make a ton of money and hire peons to be poisoned for your dollar if you have the capital. 


I just posted this because I KNOW there are shops out there operating the same way. And it's wrong.
So is the attitude of an owner to say repeatedly "everything causes cancer. You are fine"

I hope it inspires at least one person to speak up or really take a look at their employees health a little bit more.


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## bartkyy (Jun 25, 2013)

see if they will take pictures for you and send them to you.


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## kenjicao (Jun 14, 2013)

i just aquired a bunch of chemicals for a garage screenprinting set up. what products should i avoid? or/and lean towards...i didnt even know this was a problem...maybe thats why my eyes are always irritated...sorry about your situation...


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## ThreadHead99 (Jun 10, 2013)

Folks told me I was crazy for thinking my work caused my cancer.

Gee. Vinyl chloride, methylene chloride.... styrene.... 
It's all here! wow! 
This is a new tool for dummy bosses like mine. 
Hopefully it gets used.
Serious **** in printing rooms. USE WITH CAUTION.
Putting Breast Cancer Out of Work Training Materials | ChemHAT

Happy Labor Day.


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## Gecko Signs NT (Aug 3, 2012)

I can't believe you were fired while you were receiving treatment!!?? Is there anyway you can use this as cause for unfair dismissal????
I know here in Australia, that would just not happen. The Courts would be in your favour immediately.
And, I agree about going to the media with your story. Media is powerful.


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