Clinics Treat Chemically Linked Illnesses
While multiple chemical sensitivity is disputed, the state of Washington knows exposure to chemicals can lead to illnesses and injuries.
State-funded clinics in Seattle, Toppenish and Spokane now treat and research chemical-related illnesses.
A new unit at the Department of Labor and Industries handles 2,200 claims filed a year by workers hurt by chemicals on the job.
Since 1994, the state has responded to growing awareness and complaints of chemical illnesses with money and medicine.
But people with multiple chemical sensitivity say it is not enough.
“It’s fabulous to have gotten attention,” says Karen McDonnell of Gig Harbor. But, she says, the clinics haven’t cured anyone with MCS, and the new labor unit is simply more efficient at rejecting their claims.
“They have just gotten better at being bad to us,” says the leading advocate.
The state currently does not accept MCS as a valid workplace injury qualifying for benefits because there is no standard medical evidence that exposure occurred at work and not at home, says spokesman Steve Valandra.
That exclusion has strung tension on both sides.
One Seattle health official called MCS a myth and spontaneous hallucination. MCS victims have responded by organizing a data base of 700 sufferers statewide and dreaming of lawsuits.
“We are pioneers,” McDonnell said. She and others who lobbied the Washington Legislature prompted action that could be a model for other states.
Nonetheless, hundreds of workers injured or sickened by chemicals are finding it easier to get help.
In Spokane, doctors at Occupational Medicine Associates treat people who mostly suffer lung problems and asthma. They also treat people with chemical sensitivities, often prescribing moderate changes in lifestyle.
One patient had full-blown asthma attacks in movie theaters - probably in reaction to hot popcorn oil. He now watches movies at home.
Another’s reaction was limited to cooked food smells. With the help of a psychologist, he sat in restaurant parking lots, gradually moving inside.
While people with multiple chemical sensitivities are welcome at the state clinics, sufferers are distrustful.
The state continues to leave the door open.
“For a long time, no one thought asbestos caused problems, and now we know it’s a carcinogen,” Valandra said. “There may be something to MCS but it’s at the stage where there’s not enough medical evidence to validate that.”
, DataTimes