Living in Contamination Summary

How many Americans and people around the world live in a contaminated living environment?  

When one lives in subsidized housing it is not safe to call maintenance to have one's apartment repaired because they may cause an accident.  This is not normal. Most apartments are not like this.

When one lives in a contaminated living space they are subject to daily harm from chemical exposures. If a chemical leaves a residue that cannot be removed from a stainless steel faucet- how can it be removed from human tissue? Chemical residue is kind of subtle and it's not something everyone is able to notice. Many chemical exposures are subtle and are also not visible. Carbon monoxide is not visible. Lead in the drinking water can also be invisible.

How much harm is done by chemical exposures?  Is there anyway to recover from such harm?  I do not know.  It is possible that the damage is irreparable after a certain level of exposure.

The damages caused by chemical injury are a terrible waste of human life.  No one wants to be burdened with this kind of problem. I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and the one basic requirement of having this health problem is that one not be exposed to chemicals.  There are many people around the country and world who have to leave their homes and live in cars, in the street or have their lives uprooted by this illness. Chemical injury and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity are not the same illness. I do think chemical residue exposures would harm anyone. There is difference between industrial chemicals and chemicals that are in laundry detergent, fragrances and chemicals people are commonly exposed to. I do not know if those cause damage or not.

I would wager that the damages one experiences from continuous exposure to chemical residue is not different than the movies The Rainmaker, A Civil Action and Erin Brockovich in some ways. I have multiple chemical sensitivity so I am more sensitive to this than most people. We matter also. People should not have to tolerate being exposed to harmful chemicals. The people who live in subsidized housing are the most vulnerable people in society. This includes disabled people, poor people, the elderly, single parents and minorities.

There are apartments in this area that I could afford to move into.  I am not allowed to move into these apartments because I do not make three times the rent per month.  Where do people live when they need to recover from health problems? It is customary to assist disabled people, that is not new.  If people cannot find any place to live while they recover form health problems that is terrible.  

Many illnesses are caused by chemical exposures, medical error and on the job accidents.  This falls outside the "logic" of personal responsibility.  I have been living in contaminated apartments since late August of 2014.  The only break in this ongoing poisoning and harm have been brief.  I have paid the rent on time and in full every month.  Most of the time I have been in college or working and making a contribution to this society.

I have tried addressing this matter with the local health department.  They told me this situation falls outside their scope of support.  People do not have the luxury of saying something falls outside of the scope of what they currently understand, especially if it is causing them harm.  The EPA was also unresponsive regarding this matter.  If people are being harmed by chemical exposures it does not matter whether or not it is recognized by the government or "intellectuals."  I think everyone would all be better off if people were not made sick by institutions.  This is a very big burden.  Treatment for chemical injury is not covered by insurance.  Chemical injury cannot be treated through the conventional medical system.  There are no environmental medicine doctors in the area I live in at all.  

If there are any lawyers that are interested in taking this case you can reach me at: 

mushinryan@yahoo.com

(Living in chemical residue is like living in quicksand because it slowly takes one under)