JOIN US Stephanie Connell, 52, suffered from depression, body rash and exhaustion and some some of the symptoms remain 18 months after leaving the job.
She took up a bulk teller’s position in March 2007 after working as a Westpac teller for almost 10 years, The Press reported on Monday.
Connell worked in “an unventilated vault, about the size of a double garage” where she constantly handled notes and ripped the tops of plastic bags containing money.
Filthiest stuff
“There was a lot of green dust coming off the $20 bills that we ran through the bill counter.
“Money is the filthiest stuff you could ever imagine. You can absorb the dust through your hands, but I was inhaling it as well,” she was quoted as saying.
By July 2008, Connell had “waves of anxiety, difficulty breathing, and a chemical, metallic taste” in her mouth. The symptoms would clear overnight, but return at work. She was bedridden for several weeks and referred to a psychiatrist.
“They took my health and my livelihood. I thought, if this is the way I’m living, I want to die.”
She browsed the internet and found the multiple-chemical sensitivity syndrome that matched her symptoms.
General practitioner Ted Pearson said in a letter to the bank’s union: “The symptoms and harm suffered by Stephanie were the direct result of her exposure to dust and fumes whilst handling money, not from any other non-work activities or environments.”