Rotten Office Fridge Sends 7 To Hospital

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - A California office worker cleaning a refrigerator full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill.

Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday after the fumes led someone to call emergency services. A hazardous materials team was called in. What crews found was an unplugged refrigerator crammed with moldy food.

Authorities say an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess.

The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.

Authorities say the worker who cleaned the refrigerator didn't need treatment - she can't smell because of allergies.
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Rotten office fridge cleanup sends seven workers to hospital

:lol:
 
Geez, they don't do a good job keeping it clean. My work has very filthy microwave. :roll:
 
wow, make me wonder, did they go to the hospital because of bacteria and molds or gag reflex or what? I have threw up because my son threw up. I couldn't handle the smell of it, but my husband could handle it very well without vomiting. I often have to hold my breathe...maybe the gas from odor do make people vomit or maybe it's all mental.

Like how mixing bleach and ammonia create a gas can put alot of people to the hospital.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
wow, make me wonder, did they go to the hospital because of bacteria and molds or gag reflex or what? I have threw up because my son threw up. I couldn't handle the smell of it, but my husband could handle it very well without vomiting. I often have to hold my breathe...maybe the gas from odor do make people vomit or maybe it's all mental.

Like how mixing bleach and ammonia create a gas can put alot of people to the hospital.
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Never EVER mix bleach and ammonia. The fumes are extremely toxic and can not only put you in the hospital...they can kill you. The fumes literally burn the tissues of the respiratory system.
 
Yep! I used to work in a nursing home and some dumb janitor, despite all the warning on the label, have mixed the two together and put alot of people in the hospital. I was off that day so I wasn't exposed to it. They fired him because they don't want him dealing with chemicals anymore if he won't read the labels.
 
Good lord, no one thought to clean it out until it got THIS bad? UGH!

I assume there will no longer be a break room fridge for this very reason. If you want to keep your lunch cold, bring your own insulated lunchbox with a coolpak.
 
Thanks goodness I work at the nursing home and we do clean out our fridge. We have one big freezer, 2 walker and 3 fridge. We clean them weekly but take the bad food out every 3 days
 
The statement about not smelling because of allergies is what "saved" her from being ill...that's a bunch of balony.

If it was toxic fumes, it doesn't matter if you smell it or not...it still gets in the lungs, etc.

RME.
 
The fridge at work is cleaned daily. If your stuff isn't labelled and dated, it gets thrown away regardless of whether or not it was put there recently. This is why a lot of people bring their own lunches in insulated lunch boxes with coolpaks or in thermos containers. Not only that with 300+ employees it can get pretty full fast.
 
deafbajagal said:
The statement about not smelling because of allergies is what "saved" her from being ill...that's a bunch of balony.

If it was toxic fumes, it doesn't matter if you smell it or not...it still gets in the lungs, etc.

RME.
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Not necessarily if she couldn't breathe through her nose.
 
My work keeps their refrigerator clean once a week. There are sign warning employees that they will clean out refrigerator on Thursday at 2pm so do not leave lunches on that certain day.

They should have used professional painter mask to clean really moldy refrigerator!! (They're only $32 at hardware store) I have professional painter mask that have two filters. I can't smell anything even changing my baby son diaper back then :giggle: My son was puzzled why Daddy have his 'alien' mask on (worn it few times when I changed his diaper :rofl:). It worked wonder when I had to rip out carpet with spilled pee and poop from clogged toliet in the bathroom.

Catty
 
Last I checked I smoked my cigarettes through my mouth and not my nose and according to my GP, it still has the same devastating effects on my lungs as if I were breathing it through my nose.
 
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