The nonsmoking claimant worked in the defendant’s building from 1983 to 1987 and then moved to a new building., having suffered from nasal swelling, coughing and tightening and pain in her chest, caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.  Since moving into the new building, she still had problems with smoke.  In August, 1990, smoking by her colleagues was confined to a smoking area; she felt much better but became more sensitive to perfume and lotion smells.  An arbitrator denied workers’ compensation benefits for Stanton, finding that the risk of exposure to perfume and various other odors was not particular to her employment and that her employment did not increase the risk of such exposure.  The Commission affirmed and adopted the decision of the arbitrator.  See “Commission Denied Benefits to Claimant Who Alleged She Suffered Disability Due to Exposure to Second-hand Smoke,” Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Bulletin, February 2, 1998.

Ill. Ind. Com., Nos. 94 WC 45643, 97 IIC 2054 (1997).