A former employee of the University of Medicine and Denistry of New Jersey Sues

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EX-WORKER SUES SCHOOL, SAYS CHEMICALS SICKENING

( The Record (Bergen County, NJ) )

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By LINDY WASHBURN, Staff Writer

Date: 04-17-1999, Saturday

A former employee of the University of Medicine and Denistry of New

Jersey has filed a lawsuit against the school, saying officials ignored

poor working conditions, causing her to become so sick she had to quit

her job.

Debra Bottinick, 44, of Mendham was director of education and

training at the Tuberculosis Center of the University of Medicine and

Dentistry of New Jersey, where she worked for seven years before

resigning in July 1997.

She charges that renovations at the Martland Building, a

44-year-old hospital building that housed the tuberculosis center,

produced chemicals that caused " sick building syndrome " and exacerbated

an earlier condition she had, multiple chemical sensitivity, that had

been caused by exposure to pesticides.

An in-house report by university inspectors cited in the lawsuit

found that the entire building -- which serves many patients whose lungs

are infected with tuberculosis -- needed " a new ventilation system " to

comply with standards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration,

and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Two university doctors, Leonard Bielory and Durso, also

found " there is a direct effect between the patient's work environment

and her symptoms, " according to the lawsuit.

The suit, filed Friday in state Superior Court in Essex County,

says the university violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

by refusing Bottinick's repeated requests for a change of workplace or

better ventilation. A spokeswoman for the university, Preston,

said officials would not comment while the case is in litigation.

Sick building syndrome is believed to affect as many as 10 million

Americans a year, inducing headache, fatigue, nausea, and other

problems. Bottinick says she developed extreme fatigue, swollen glands,

liver pain, and hoarseness. She took a medical leave, used vacation

time, sought to work at home or outside the office, and reduced her

hours to part-time in order to retain her job, but ultimately resigned.

Her boss, Dr. Lee Reichman, " maintained the attitude that he did

not believe [bottinick] was truly ill, and that she was inventing or

exaggerating the symptoms from which she was suffering, " the suit says.

Half of the windows in her workspace were boarded up, and the air

conditioning and ventilation units weren't working at the time that

carpeting was installed and paint applied, the lawsuit says.