Anchorage Woman "Fired" For Reporting Sick Building

ANCHORAGE - Six years ago, Marilyn Coppe was vivacious, energetic and healthy. Today, she can barely get a sentence out at times.

"I can't speak efficiently because of the illness," said Coppe, who alleges the cause of that illness lies behind the walls of the Alaska Surgery Center, at 4001 Laurel Street.

"I've been diagnosed by a toxicologist," Coppe said. "Toxic encephalopathy that prevents me from efficient thinking. And I have been diagnosed with heavy metals poisoning."

Coppe said she got sick while working in a doctor's office, of all places.

"I was a medical secretary for nine years," she said.

Until she was "fired" Oct. 10, 2003, for filing a complaint with the Alaska Office of Occupational Safety and Health, Coppe said.

"Not only employees but employers were complaining as well," Coppe said. "They complained about the odors, mildew, mold odors. After I filed that complaint, I went back to work and I instantly became the plague."

A week later, Coppe said, she was asked to leave.

"I was not allowed to return," she said. "The doctor said, 'No, it's time to move on.' I was a liability to them and to the building itself."

Linda Johnson, an attorney for Coppe's former employer said the employer "worked with Coppe for seven months. (Coppe) was the only one in the building who was ill. (The employer) had all sorts of tests done. He paid her full-time even though she only worked two hours a day for seven

Coppe took her case to court, where a 12-member jury unanimously found her claims of wrongful termination had no merit.

AKOSH never conducted an inspection because Coppe's complaints were about poor indoor air quality, and AKOSH does not have standards to measure air quality, said Steve Standley, AKOSH chief of enforcement.

Coppe filed another complaint in 2007. This time, about exposure to lead-based paint.

"We wanted to take samples to determine whether there was lead in the paint and toxins in the carpet, but Mrs. Coppe was no longer an employee there, which means we don't have the jurisdiction to go inside. We can only go inside if employees are exposed."

Furthermore, Standley said, "By the time we checked into this, the offices had been remodeled. It's not that Mrs. Coppe's complaints were ignored. It's just that they were filed too late."

Standley said AKOSH has not received any other complaints about the Alaska Surgery Center building on Laurel Street.

Meanwhile, it's been six years since Coppe lost her job. She said her weight has doubled since then - from a size 8 to a size 16. The bills, both medical and legal, are piling up. She is appealing her civil lawsuit against her former employers.

She refuses to give up.

"Why?" she said, emotional. "I have rights. I'm not doing this to see what money I can get out of people. That's not what my life is about. I have not been made whole. I have not been made whole."

She paused as she struggled to find the words.

"I think this is more of human rights," Coppe said. "It's more than civil discrimination. It's wrong."

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