Posted by Robin
on
15 March 2010
City employees with a strong aroma of perfume, cologne or any scented products will soon be in for a warning.
Detroit officials have plans to place placards in three city buildings detailing scented products to avoid due to a settlement in a widely publicized federal lawsuit filed by a city planner in 2008 and settled last month.
The employee, Susan McBride, was awarded $100,000 in the federal case because of her breathing sensitivity to chemical products -- but she has yet to receive her money.
— From Detroit city employees discouraged from wearing strong scents at the Detroit News.
Posted by Robin
on
30 November 2008
A city of Detroit planner can proceed with her lawsuit alleging a co-worker's perfume made it difficult for her to breathe and impossible to do her job, a federal judge has ruled.
In an opinion released late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff rejected the city's attempt to have Susan McBride's lawsuit, filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismissed.
McBride "has produced evidence that her breathing is significantly restricted" by a co-worker's perfume, and she has a potential claim, Zatkoff ruled.
— Read the rest at Judge says perfume lawsuit can proceed at The Detroit News. Many thanks to Christina for the tip! We first heard about this lawsuit last year, and the problem wasn't just perfume but also a plug-in room deodorizer.
See also: The Detroit Tresor lawsuit.
Posted by Robin
on
12 September 2008
For generations, the scent of lavender has been used as a calming agent. Now it appears it even works on-the-spot ... to help patients scared of the dentist's drill.
Spraying the scent 'significantly' lowered patients' anxiety levels, says a study to be presented today at the British Psychological Society's health psychology conference at the University of Bath.
— Read the rest at How the scent of lavender can ease those fears about going to the dentist at the Mail Online.
Malodorous mayhem ensued on a school bus ride home last night when a perfume bottle spilled and sickened about a dozen students and the driver.
Some students vomited and others had shortness of breath after being overcome with the fragrance, District Fire Chief Michael Gamache said.
— From 11 checked out at hospital after perfume sickens students at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Posted by Robin
on
10 December 2007
The background: The National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation (NTEF) has been campaigning (in the courts and in the media) against Clarins' Thierry Mugler Angel perfume. NTEF says Angel contains coumarin, and that coumarin is a "dangerous ingredient". See Thierry Mugler Angel a drug? and Thierry Mugler Angel a drug?, part 2.
Many of us wondered why they were picking on Angel, which is not the only perfume with coumarin. The answer, from a Clarins spokesman:
He said NTEF president Angel De Fazio had filed a lawsuit against Clarins in October 2004 claiming that one spray of the company's Angel Parfum had left her permanently disabled.
That lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year. Read more at Clarins defends itself against interest group attacks in Cosmetics Design.
Posted by Robin
on
5 July 2007
Another perfume lawsuit is in the works:
An employee in the Detroit planning department who claims she is severely sensitive to perfumes and other cosmetics has sued the city, saying a co-worker's strong fragrance prohibits her from working. [...]
''This employee not only wore a strong scent, but also plugged in a scented room deodorizer,'' the lawsuit states. ''Ms. McBride was overcome by the smell almost instantly, causing her to go home sick.''
Read the rest in the New York Times.
