Free Change

I & A Cleaners, Los Angeles

Originally uploaded by gregoniemeyer

Karina and Armen own a dry cleaning shop and work there every day since they started in the 80’s. Armen hosted an air quality monitor out of concern for Karina’s health. He knew Tetrachloroethylene, a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) that he used to cleans stains, was in the air. It is a neurotoxin and a Group 2A carcinogen. The monitor showed that the VOC levels in his shop were high. The levels built up throughout the week and dropped off only on Sunday, when he did not run the machines.

He tried to run the shop’s exhaust fans throughout the night. This cut the VOC levels on the monitor, but Armen could not feel the difference. Perhaps he got used to VOC. He decided to leave the fans off at night after all, in consideration of higher electrical bills. Karina and Armen have two children. Alexander is in charge of marketing for the dry cleaning store, and Inga is finishing a degree in clinical psychology.