By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

Renosol workers and members of the United Automobile Workers organized a town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss the dangers of Toluene Diisocyanate, a hazardous chemical, in the plant’s air.

During the gathering, former and current employees spoke about their experience working at the plant. They also urged other employees to demand changes from Renosol.

“We know that jobs are few,” said Kimberly King, who said she has worked at Renosol for nearly a decade. “But your health is more important, and you should come forth and have your blood tested. It is very important that you get yourself tested to know what level you are with the TDI.”

Despite the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration not fining Renosol for the air quality in its Selma plant, workers are standing their ground that they are being exposed to TDI.

“You’ve got a lot of people that know something is there that isn’t harmless, but [they] really don’t want to say anything,” said Christopher Triplett, a Renosol employee. “They are fearful for their jobs.”

So far, 17 Renosol employees have submitted their blood for testing to Dr. Adam Wisnewski, a senior research scientist in medicine at Yale University. Wisnewski has studied the effects of TDI and other isocyanates for 20 years.

Wisnewski said his test results revealed that five out of the 17 employees that submitted their blood to him tested positive for exposure to TDI.

“It’s hard for me to say [how much] precisely based solely on their blood tests,” Wisnewski said. “But their blood tests indicate that the exposure is at a level [high] enough to induce disease.”

In a presentation Wisnewski showed during the meeting, one of the main harmful effects of TDI exposure is asthma. Several employees at the meeting claim to have developed asthmatic symptoms since they started working at the company.

OSHA fined Renosol recently for two violations involving protective equipment and proper training, but they did not fine Renosol for its air quality. Renosol said multiple tests they’ve conducted show no hazards in the air at the Selma plant.

“It’s not uncommon for the air levels to be measured at zero,” Wisnewski said. “So that doesn’t mean that there is not a problem. Air testing for isocyanates is notoriously unreliable. It can be easy to miss exposures if you sample at the wrong time or the wrong place.”

Renosol employees just want something done so they can feel like they work in a safe place.

“[We want] a safe environment for us to work in, for us to be able to go back home to our families safe,” King said. “Something needs to be done to clean up our environment in our workplace.”

Members of the United Automobile Workers and United Steel Workers pledged to back Renosol employees if they wish to form a union. Several employees at the meeting supported the idea of forming one.

“I am strongly for a union,” King said. “We could have a voice in our workplace to say whether or not it’s safe. We would be able to speak freely.”

Mel Stephens, senior vice president of Lear Corporation, Renosol’s parent company, declined to comment on the meeting.

The company stands by a statement made earlier this week by Stephens.

“The latest OSHA communications confirm that OSHA has accepted the repeated scientific test results that showed there is no breathing hazards at the Selma plant,” Stephens said. “Our workplace in Selma is safe, and we are very proud of the fine job done by our employees there. We remain focused on serving our customers and building opportunity in the Selma community.”