A few months ago people working at the state office building in Bennington
started feeling sick. An unusual number of them reported the same symptoms trouble breathing, coughing.
The Vermont Department of Health conducted some tests, along with the National Institute of Occupational Safety, and found six confirmed and two more suspected cases of sarcoidosis, an inflammation producing tiny lumps of cells in various body organs.
If untreated over a number of years, permanent organ damage can occur,
along with scarring of lung tissue.
The decision was made back in October to move all the workers out of the building and into temporary or modular work spaces, but that effort is taking longer than expected.
Tasha Wallis is the state’s Buildings and General Services Commissioner. She’ll be in Montpelier today to update lawmakers on the moving efforts.
She spoke with Mitch Wertlieb about today’s meeting which she says will include an overview of the history of the state building in Bennington: