Poisoning?

[tonja1nation]

I work at a dog day care/boarding & grooming service. The indoor play yards where the dogs go to the bathroom are mopped regularly with a very strong industrial bleach solution that burns all of our eyes terribly & makes all of the dogs go into sneezing fits. I have recently been feeling short of breath easily fatigued & have had several serious dizzy spells that made me unable to function. Could these symptoms be related to inhaling these bleach (& ammonia from the urine) fumes? Two of my coworkers have bronchitis as well & have had bouts of dizziness also.

[FurballsMom]

Yes, and it's bad for the dogs, too.  I own a cat and have chemical sensitivities myself.  So, this place is only cleaned with natural products.  That industrial stuff, if it's still in the air when the dogs and people are there, that's not good for anyone.  It's very bad for the people doing the cleaning, too.  They need to use other cleaning products.  The stuff they're using is too harsh and is dangerous for both the people and the animals.

[anxiety2]

Yes. this could be directly related to the fumes that come off the mixed cheimicals. who ever is doing the cleaning needs to be informed to use somthing more mild. try using arm and hammer when cleaning up fecies and urine so no one gets hurt.

[moonraes]

Yes it could very well be that. Try removing yourself from the area when this is happening see if it still comes on the same way. Mixing bleach with ammonia is very bad for you, it can cause someone to pass out and it can also cause death. I would look into this further for sure.

[ducky406]

It's quite probable. I know that bleach and ammonia create a deadly combination, but I don't know if the amount of ammonia in dog urine is concentrated enough to be hazardous. However, if it's indoors, not well ventilated even just the solution itself could be harmful. I would suggest asking the manager to look into a new form of cleaning- due to all the illnesses it would be beneficial to have a bunch of healthy staff over sick staff and it is a work safety hazard- so they can't brush it off. It costs them money and could lead to a law suit if the problem is really the bleach and causes severe illness to the employees. In the mean time I would suggest using good construction-grade dust masks (you can get these at almost any hardware store). The masks will help lower further harm from the fumes and may even remove the bouts of dizziness you're experiencing.