This is what daily life is like to people such as myself, and obviously on “toxic assault” this victim is far less sensitive to a general range of products then I am to be out shopping.
Woman almost died from allergy to air freshener
“A woman collapsed and almost died from her allergy to air freshener aerosols after she asked a shop assistant to stop spraying it and was ignored.”
….. almost died after a supermarket worker sprayed air freshener into a changing room which caused her to collapse and stop breathing
……. Initially, her pulse could not be found. A passer-by with first aid experience resuscitated her and she was taken by ambulance to Rotherham District General Hospital.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5972025/Woman-almost-died-from-allergy-to-air-freshener.html
Case law, concerning disability accommodation:
Dyer vs London Ambulance Trust 2014, fragrance allergy – is significant in being unable to safely accommodate this disability on potential risk of harm.
https://www.springhouselaw.com/updates/aerosols-perfume-reasonable-adjustments
Risk of harm: H&S Act 1974 on a basis of safety overrides Equality Act – fragrance allergy could NOT be safely accommodated in a working environment as the consequences were potentially fatal, whether intentional ignored or by accident.
So in other words an employee is “prevented from working by law” on risk of harm (they do not have the option of waiving this), likewise for employers – visitor to the premises, there are insurance liability consequences too etc.
As to the medical aspect of this and background which is the exact opposite of receiving help from the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP), who still try to ignore this, and on how they mistreat people – be under no illusion the new ‘ Universal Credit ‘; there is no different to how claimants are bullied and rights denied by the same staff, with the same evil intent to just make them disappear off statistics and in effect ostracised from society.
I have a serious health disability, it is document to being made sick due to inadvertently exposed to massive overdoses of air freshener chemicals (multi-blocks and sprays) at work, all day long, over a long period.
Besides being left organ damage – chronic pancreatitis after the pancreatic head died, which periodically aggravates my liver too, and is difficult to manage regarding allergenic triggers, apart from foods, fragrance necessitating being housebound, and have many ‘acute’ flare-up
As to proof and reason to why disability happened, apart from on medical records, including a GP letter who wrote in response to my employer (without either seeking my permission), I have copies of invoices of what was used – just ONE of the many harmful chemicals that I was exposed to at very high levels was dichlorobenzene.
Without a doubt, HSE failed to restrict dichlorobenzene on behalf of DWP regarding ventilation and product safety in the workplace. Alongside dichlorobenzene, fragrance (perfume) chemicals and many other chemicals in commercial products are sensitizers and are extremely harmful too – some recently banned by EU, but many others still ignored.
HSE Extract – Air Freshener REACH consultations 2012 and EU actual restricted 2015 regarding dichlorobenzene:
“Consumers are exposed to the substance when they use 1,4-dichlorobenzene based products at home or when they visit public toilets deodorised with these products…… “
“1,4-dichlorobenzene has been classified as a category 2 carcinogen (liver tumours). It also affects the kidneys and respiratory tract. “
“The dossier demonstrates that consumers using 1,4-dichlorobenzene products at home, and professionals employed in public toilets where 1,4-dichlorobenzene products are used are exposed above safe levels, i.e. the risks from the substance in these population groups are not adequately controlled.”
“It is estimated that the benefits of the restriction would be between 9 and 22 times higher than the costs – “
ARCHIVED HSE REFERENCE (scroll down to section 2)
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120708152357/http://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/news.htm
ALSO
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121103205y156/http://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/news.htm
health concerns confirmed 2012 by EU REACH and restriction came into force 2015: Excessive exposure to 1,4-dichlorobenzene may affect the blood, brain, eye, kidney, liver, lung and skin. And HSE previously Feb 2006, knew this but had done nothing.
Whilst this is great it has now been restricted, unfortunately it’s 15 years to late for me, as basically I have developed chemical sensitivities to minute particles regarding a range of other products – scented or unscented.
The only thing to be thankful for on my behalf is the EU, who have actually been steps taken to protect people with allergies and restrict such hazardous chemicals for other people. Although, now HSE are running consultations to try and get this overturned as soon as UK leaves the EU.
DWP used their usual dirty tactics, to try and close my claim, either refuse to register it as I cannot cope with their “face to face” toxic assault at their office or at my home.
I’ve even had DWP clerks just turning up at my home and make me sick ie. “toxic assault”; certainly DWP didn’t check with either myself or my GP first to see if this was okay (it is NOT). Nor did they make any provision on a H&S basis to ensure my safety – which makes their actions completely unacceptable apart from illegal and negligent for not using a paper based assessment given my application / medical history !
In the past, depending on how hyper-reactive I am, these are the most problematic – air fresheners, perfumes, various scented/ unscented cleaning products, washing powders, personal products eg. shampoos, soaps, deodorants, terpenes, limonene, linalool, some plastics, rubbers, some metals, paints and inks, foods, plants, moulds, dust etc
This is far worse than a peanut allergy on isolating effect from society and avoidance – the nature of fragrance is oil based, coats surfaces and is airborne (VOCs). Even if a person has not used them themselves, everywhere they go pick up particles from where they’ve been and what they have come into contact with – especially regarding scented air fresheners/ personal products / laundry products, which apart from the absolutely nauseating sickly fragrance stench, it is very difficult to washout. After exposure, not only does this make me feel ill for days/ weeks, but wearing me down to being down to being sick for months with potential for organ damage.
On a legal basis, DWP has failed to provide facilities and adhere to H&S rights, disability, equality and legislation compliance. They are suppose to be responsible for these – how do they think employees are going to fare in the workplace and in daily life – exactly how am I protected, when DWP completely ignores legislation themselves.
There are periods, I have been MADE very sick, and now I do not even have the luxury of going to hospital; basically NHS have no provision to prevent further harm….. so I’d rather take my chances at home eg. 2016 was ill for months by triggered chronic pancreatitis, including jaundice, lost two stone in weight.
As a result of DWP policies, we now have a country that starved their people into submission, sanctions them, makes them working for FREE for commercial organisation/ pseudo charities or drives them to suicide, causing miserable deaths and much stress (see appendix).
On what claimants have to contend with, even if they manage to get registered – a legal provision was made by Iain Duncan Smith that claimants can be sanctioned of all monies for three years. If you think I am exaggerating over the cruelty of the DWP look at some of the actual deaths – a learning disability needs to be punishment worse than committing a crime, sick elderly nurses deserves no monies etc (see appendix below).
And, even when claimants win cases, DWP re-assess them, refuses money and making them jump through the same hoops over and over again, and continually leaving them without monies.
DWP do not help people, it just leaves them with no monies, no access to a solicitor, which given unemployment monies is circa £3500 pa – commercial lawyers have no interest in suing for such a pittance (which means taking on a government and a pig ignorant empire of clerks with no legal aid). And, even when, DWP is found guilty of breaching their own rules eg. a court class action of DWP cheating five hundred thousand, yes that’s 500,000 people wrongly denied monies via sanctioning, it still does not get paid as IDS/ ministers retrospectively illegally changed the rules/ legislation and continued to ignore the courts.
As to the new ‘Universal credit’ system, be under no illusion, this is no different to how claimants are treat. It is exactly the same assessment behind it ie. the same bunch of amateur ‘decision’ clerks, and worse, same flawed admin tick-box assessment criteria by foreign owned profiteering commercial companies.
‘Freedom of information’ (FOI) has established, the ESA (disability/sick) assessment criteria of ‘denial’ eg. press a button, put your hands above your head, and then there is A2E, CAPITA etc being paid lots of money, to ‘help’ claimants – which is basically is just bully claimants to shuffling details around on a CV, who do not obtain work from this. Under FOI, they even thwarting attempt to get statistics on deaths attributed to DWP policies.
ESA tick-box assessment is NOT even a real medical/ certainly no diagnosis nor healthcare about this – nor do these companies have real medical specialist (thousands have died within weeks of being found ‘fit for work’) nor is there any report of actually what jobs claimants can do.
Work groups, provide no practical help to do this, no facilities are provided other than claimants being made to attend premise with poor IT equipment and made to shuffle details around on a CV’s under threat of sanction, and do job searches – this is NOT help and statistically on record proved worse than DWP doing nothing – imagine Stephen Hawkins going through ATOS assessment, with no support or equipment provided, expected to get an unskilled job, travel to it and live on £3500 pa etc (see DWP “blood on their hands” section confirming this is exactly how DWP treat people).
MPs have fully known this for years and well documented to being true – they negligently accepting many deaths attributed to DWP treatment; while millions are bullied and lives made absolutely miserable. A system designed by MPs who cannot honestly even run their own petty cash accounts, let alone do NOT have the skills or expertise to run institutes.
NHS ‘cradle to grave’ philosophy – on medical treatment and patients living unharmed; NHS should not be turning a blind eye. Either cure people or make provision to help them and ensure DWP at least afforded basic human rights to food/ clothing/ housing.
It really should not even be DWP responsibility, a bunch of unqualified ‘decision’ clerks who get bonuses for denying people monies and leave them destitute. Most are fortunate enough to have relatives/ friends to help them where DWP leave them homeless ‘sofa surfing’, but in effect, government are indirectly financially penalising anyone that helps people that, DWP has cruelly left penniless.
DWP has done nothing, but try to bring my integrity into question, treats me as if I am stupid and developed systems so people like me, run around in circles for their convenience and intentionally make peoples life’s as difficult, making lots of people destitute and harming their health further (exactly how is this helping people) !
DWP has absolutely taken no account take of – I have 5 A’ Levels, HNC Business & Finance, BSc (Hons) and university certificates in science and IT etc have spending vast amounts of my time and money getting these since 1988 whilst working. As to work, I have QTS to teach in school or colleges, that’s without mentioning 25 yrs experience as management accountant within manufacturing industry (previously worked 50-70 hour weeks, in having to keep up with government legislation and bureaucracy etc)…..
As to general stigmatisation of claimants – on a personal level, from decades of an employer perspective, the government “shirker” propaganda regarding unemployed/ sick/ disabled is lies – quite the opposite, it is DWP that is the complete waste of time and money.
In conclusion, DWP needs to establish just how they are going to ‘help’ me without subjecting me to “toxic assault” and put this on written record – there is no reason why any government departments cannot restrict their communication to electronic means only and likewise ensure that people can participate in working life/ society via Telepresence etc.
I should not need permission to be classed as having a health disability, although I would appreciate my GP practice confirming my statement – I intend to ensure DWP farcical systems and arrogant clerks stop treating people like this. Personally, I will never forgive any of them, to how they have treat me and other people – they do have ‘blood on their hands.’, so I make NO apology for writing this (see appendix pg 8) .
In summary, on the basis of human rights regarding my declaration and statement of disability: I have allergies, I should not be subject to “toxic assault” and provision should be made to ensure I am not harmed in daily life either intentionally or negligently.