Insecticide

Penzance

Hi

We had a ladybug invasion at work and my employers have spread insecticide around the office, including on and around my desk (it is near the windows through which they came in). I have read Silent Spring and some of my relatives were farmers and were really concerned about insecticides etc. when I was growing up so I am a bit worried. I am wearing gloves for the time being and am thinking of using activated charcoal. Any other tips? Employer refuses to disclose the name of the insecticide which was used, repeating it is completely safe. In the meantime, I am brushing off dying and dead bugs, hoping none fall inside my tea!

Meadow

Penzance, I would take precaution to wash your hands, and wash off your desk and all surfaces around you, then move on. The deed is done, you are not going to die from this pesticide. If you could ask again what kind it is, I absolutely believe you have the right to know, and I find it unexceptable your employer will not tell you...but if it causes problems for you in the workplace it is prob not worth it in the long run to make a stink or take a stand. Unless you feel safe enough in your job and position to do so.

vlnrph

There are a few plant based pesticides that seem to be pretty safe (I have allowed exterminators to spread permethrin outside my house) however people might have allergies so your employer needs to explain what substance is being used! Environmental factors also play a part in cancer development, as you probably know.

If you are in the U.S., this sounds like an OSHA issue - the agency that addresses occupational health & safety has many rules to protect workers from chemicals. Companies are required to keep Material Data and Safety files which list exposure hazards to things such as cleaning compounds like bleach, etc and I think this situation brings up an even broader concern since everyone is subject to it, not just maintenance staff for example.

Is there a human resource/personnel department that could investigate and educate your bosses? Let us know how this turns out. The problem insect may actually be an "Asian beetle" which looks like but is not a lady bug.

Penzance

Thanks for your replies. It's permethrin they used, however I had to find that out from the company who applied it. I think they just hoped I would resign... Ironically they are running another 'pink' day later this month. And just yesterday they were bad-mouthing a colleague who resigned because of bullying, saying, among other things 'he obviously wasn't happy here, if you're not happy at work, you should leave etc.' It's such an awful office environment, sometimes I wonder whether they 'gave' me cancer. Will never know, as they made me miss two 6-monthly scans in a row...

Wendy3

penzance I lived for two years in Oregon moved from Canada and I couldn't believe how much pesticides were used there in place of normal gardening practises. Even had someone try to prove to me how "safe" it was by drinking some (a professor at a university no less). So now the wonderful company Monsanto has admitted publicly that maybe roundup isn't so safe and could cause cancer. I bet that prof is regretting it now. So I would crack a window and clean off everything. There is no such thing as a safe pesticide in my books.