Man's lawsuit blames illness on pigeon droppings

DETROIT (AP) -- A Michigan man who once worked on the Soo Locks is suing his former employers, alleging that he suffered a debilitating illness from on-the-job exposure to pigeon droppings. The Detroit News reports that 54-year-old Bruce Harrison sued Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co. and Canadian National/Illinois Central Railroad in federal court on Monday. His suit alleges that the companies failed to protect him from hazardous work conditions. Harrison says he developed symptoms consistent with histoplasmosis -- a respiratory disease that can be spread by spores in bird droppings -- that have left him unable to work. He worked on the Soo Locks from 1990 to 2006 and says he was exposed to pigeon droppings on the railroad bridges at the locks at Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's northeast Upper Peninsula. Published: Thu, Apr 7, 2011