Office plagued by mold; Employees say management did nothing

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What's your office IAQ story?

Six more former AT&T employees sue over call center air quality

CHARLESTON - Six former employees of AT&T have joined a group of co-workers who are suing the company, claiming poor air quality in a call center made them sick.

Twenty-three other suits were filed last fall by former AT&T employees.

AT&T operated a call center at One Davis Square in Charleston from August 1987 to July 2002. At any given time, 750 people were employed there.

The lawsuits state the call center had poor indoor air quality, which was a result of significant water intrusion, which permitted the growth and spread of various molds and bacteria around the premises.

The suits claim exposure to the poor indoor air quality caused the plaintiffs to become sick while at work. The suits say the supervisors were told but "failed to take action to determine the cause … of the reported sicknesses."

The suits claim AT&T ignored employee complaints of illness and on numerous occasions assured the employees that One Davis Square provided a "safe and healthful" work environment.

The suit says that in June 2000, there were so many reports from AT&T employees who had or currently were suffering from sickness from the working conditions in the call center that the local authorities ordered the facility closed.

An indoor air quality assessment was planned for One Davis Square, with Rogina, Inc. performing one and Weavertown Environmental Group, with the help of AT&T doing the other assessment, the suits claim.

According to the lawsuits, Rogina, Inc., found more than 100,000 colonies of fungi in the carpet, more than 1 million colonies forming units per gram in one work area, carbon dioxide levels that exceeded 1000 ppm and little dehumidification of outside air.

This story (edited) is from the West Virginia Record

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