Effects of Asphalt Fumes

Aha! Here is a better link about the effects of asphalt fumes on health. It's from the U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration. http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asphaltfumes/index.html. This page has another symptom listed that I didn't see on the link I used before: "reduced appetite". I know my son has not been eating well in the last month that we've been living here, especially in the last couple of weeks. I think, now that I have more information, that it's because of the constant asphalt fumes at night and more recently after the bags blew or before that, when they weren't working well. I would not lie. I have to coax him to eat anything, even his favorite foods. The only thing he wants is milk. I've been giving him liquid vitamins to make up for his decreased interest in food. I know if I've been so nauseous, it's got to be much worse for him. He's also slept quite a bit more. I thought he was going through a growth spurt, but I think his lack of eating and increased sleep are from asphalt fumes that were going at night and during the day with faulty bags and no scavenging system. If he was sleeping more from a growth spurt, he would be eating more, and he has markedly decreased how much he eats. Yesterday he only had a handful of chicken, some apple juice, one piece of apple, and finally, because he wouldn't eat anything, I tried to tempt him with junk food: cheetos and cookies. He also loves chocolate. But he only ate about 3 cheetos and a small piece of chocolate. He's been eating like this the last several days, and before that, for the last couple of weeks with a reduced appetite but not this bad. He's also sick as of last night. He's coming down with a cold. Last night he started coughing and he has a runny nose.

I wonder if the plant is claiming they weren't running at night because they don't want to be responsible for the additional constant exposure of fumes to my son.

As for workers, I've talked to guys who work in construction. Most of them won't report injuries to L&I because they're afraid they'll be cut from work, or that it will affect their chances of getting a raise. Very few men I've spoken with, even in this town, want to risk loss of livlihood for documentation of work-related health problems or compensation. Didn't the people who were working at the plant the day the bags blew get sick? How did THEY not pass out? Can you acquire a sort of immunity if you're that close or do they not notice it? Or did they have face masks or filtered air indoors for relief?

I know the asphalt plant was running at night. If proof is found that this is true, and someone tried to lie, I think I may ask if they would consider the effects this had on my son and ask if they believe they could put a small amount of money for compensation of his "pain and suffering" and adverse health effects (no appetite when he needs to be eating and healthy at this crucial stage in development) into a little account for him when he's older. I don't want any part of the compensation myself, but it may be a fair and kind gesture to my son. We will see.

--Adding to this post...I just looked up "sensitization" which is one symptom listed on the OSHA page. It explains why the asphalt plant workers may not notice how toxic their emissions are--"sensitization" is NOT a developed immunity but a sort of acquired tolerance to the effects of fumes. So damage is being done, but the immediate health effects are no longer felt. The fumes are still toxic, but the body doesn't put out the same warning signals.

What I noticed, the day the "bags blew" is that I felt the greatest wave of nausea and dizziness when I was leaving the smog zone and going into the fresh air. It startled my senses. I think that earlier that morning, I and my son had been breathing very toxic fumes, but it may have been like a frog in a pot of water on the stove...if you just throw a frog or lobster into boiling water, they'll thrash, but if you warm the water gradually, they don't notice it and get a sleepy effect. I didn't notice how bad it was until I was leaving the smog and then the wave hit me. Some of these workers are probably so sensitized they don't even feel that wave anymore.