- May 7, 2017
An employee of Louisville Metro describes the environment that he has been forced to work in for years as “toxic” and “hazardous”.
A Metro Government employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “Mold growing on drywall, there’s mold on bricks, there’s mold in stairwells, and there’s also roaches probably two to three inches long”.
The conditions sound and appear horrible in the pictures, but the anonymous Metro Government worker says that the conditions he captures in photographs were even more difficult to work in.
According to the employee, he has experienced allergy-like symptoms, as well as headaches and even memory loss, which is says are “almost continuous year round”. And those are just a few of the health issues he has experienced as a result of the conditions he has been forced to work in.
He claims that he has had to endure such issues for years and that he is concerned about the consequences of long-term exposure to black mold. He made an appointment with his doctor, who performed several tests, and the results confirmed what he said that he already knew.
The employee said that many of the tests that were taken confirmed that he has been exposed to mold and that allergy tests confirmed that he exposure to mold was “excessive”.
He also alleges that black mold was found in his blood, which ushered a serious health warning from his doctor.
“The doctor said they prefer that I not even work in the buildings, but I have to because this is my job and this is where I work at,” the employee said.
Is the city doing anything to address the problem? A local news station located a report that detailed issues with black mold in multiple buildings throughout Louisville. Some of those reports date back to the early 1990s. The issues prompted warnings to employees via emails that instructed them, “not to go back into that office for any reason.”
The worker said that it appears as if they are locking up some of the hallways inside the building. One of the areas of concern is located on the fifth floor of 810 Barret. An entire hallway has been locked off. In the same building, even more mold was found on ceiling tiles in public areas.
The disgruntled employee said, “I have to worry about this day in and day out because every building I’ve been put in has mold and every building I go in that’s at least a police department building has mold or roaches or asbestos or any of these other kinds of contaminants that can possibly be harmful to my health.”
The employee and other city workers joined forces and filed a class action lawsuit against Metro Government.
Mold Inspection & Testing Louisville has vast experience conducting mold tests in public buildings throughout the city. To protect employees, we strongly urge the Metro Government to arrange for regular mold testing in their buildings. To speak with a representative of MI&T, call 502.209.7747.
