Cathy Tinney-Zara, a worker at Niosh’s Morgantown facility, spoke to her to respond effectively with her ability to represent a union, but before losing her job, researchers at the facility said that Gulf War soldiers were actively researching how exposure to mustard gas was affected by PFAS chemists, and how pregnant workers became pregnant.
Like others in this story, two Morgantown researchers, asked to remain anonymous to avoid professional consequences, believe that layoff colleagues are also studying the possible link between chemical disinfectants and asthma exposure to how farm workers are affected by inhaling dust from hemp plants. The lab was also about to begin developing rapid toxicity testing for chemicals that could be exposed while the US military was deployed.
Mandler says he was studying why people who manufactured, cut and installed stone countertops began to develop silicosis (potentially fatal lung scarring and inflammatory diseases that make breathing difficult. He says workers tend to get sick after decades in the field.
“I listened to a man younger than me sitting across the table and talked about how I felt like I was drowning in my lungs due to these exposures.
He adds that some of the NIOSH staff, who have lost their jobs, are testing how lung tissue responds after being exposed to dust from various brands of commercial synthetic quartz. Materials commonly used in countertops are thought to cause more severe lung damage than exposure to pure natural quartz, Mandler says. He believes something in the manufacturing process might be responsible, but now that his research team at NIOSH has been demolished, Mandler fears it will take longer for the scientific community to find the root cause.
Three Morgantown researchers affected by the job offer tell Wired that after the power cut, they have not received information about who will be responsible for the facility’s biological samples, how their custody could be transferred, or what the ultimate fate is. With the entire Niosh division being eliminated, one researcher says he doesn’t even know who could be responsible for the samples he overseen at the facility.
Another researcher says when the layoffs happened, the only instructions they received were to destroy our purchases and travel cards, and maintenance was available to help us bring personal items to our car.
Researchers say that CDC guidelines instruct employees to hold physical samples and attach personally identifiable information under locks and keys, and that only certain certified staff are allowed to access them. “My colleague and I took this responsibility very seriously,” the researcher told Wired. “Many people are sensitive and worried about what happens to the other samples.”
Even before recent power cuts, Mandler and two other laid back researchers say the freezing of federal spending ordered by the Trump administration in January has reduced liquid nitrogen supply at the Morgantown facility to “significant” levels. It took several weeks to resume cargo.
