Black Mold at my Work

Post » Thu Jul 18, 2013 8:32 am

So, a few days ago I noticed that there is black mold growing along the base of the wall in the staff room at work. I work at a Grocery Store and the staff room is right beside the large freezer, which is likely the cause of the mold (the condensation seeping into the wall). I mentioned it to the store owner (who also serves as a manager of sorts) and they already knew about it. Apparently it has been there for some time. I've tossed the idea around of reporting them to corporate, but have some reservations.

The owners are good people and very friendly, and the store has been falling on hard times lately. They are hardly making a profit because they have to lower all the prices just to remain competitive (Northern Ontario small town. The base price for food is very high, so the owner reduces all prices by a bit so people will actually buy stuff). On the other hand, it is a food store and mold spores spread very fast, creating the potential for contamination.

I'm not too familiar with how the law works and don't really want to create a big fuss over nothing (if it's not that serious). And again, the owners are really nice people and this is the only food place for about an hour and a half. So if the store were to get shut-down, it would be effecting the whole community (I have no idea if it would come to that, but it has been there for some time apparently...so the contamination could be widespread now)

I'm like 3 weeks from being finished there, so its not like it effects me too much. But I don't really like the idea of leaving a possible health risk. So my question is; what would you suggest as a course of action?

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naomi
 
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Post » Thu Jul 18, 2013 8:31 pm

I can get incredibly sick from being near black mold with my Asthma and I believe long term problems can develop in anyone there even if they feel fine. Also death is a possibility if exposure is concentrated enough. I would first try and convince them to get it looked into and fixed and stress that all it will take is one accident for the whole situation to spill out and cost them even more than it would to simply renovate it right now. The longer they wait the more costly it's going to be to fix the problem for the most part. If all of this fails I would most likely after giving them a few chances then opt to report them.

I might be hated, but I did the right thing.

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RaeAnne
 
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