Most dangerous place I ever worked was the XXXX veneer plant in Vancouver. This huge complex manufactures engineered laminated beams by shredding veneer into strips and then pressing them under extreme heat and pressure through a mold. The result is a wooden beam which is comparable in strength to a steel beam, the advantages being wood is lighter, easier to cut and drill.
There were four massive veneer dryers operating 24/7 and we had fires daily, mostly just the smoldering type. We were all required to take 8 hours of fire training but I only had to actually unroll hoses once. During training we were 4 stories up, on the roof, pretending to fight a fire when my colleague said what we were all thinking “Man, if this roof catches fire, I’m not bloody coming up here. I’m going home. They can call the fire department.”
There were overhead pipes carrying super-heated oil. We were told if these pipes ruptured, contact with the air would cause the oil to instantly ignite. There was a room, above the glue-dipping system, where the air was fogged with a vapor of formaldehyde based glue. You held your breath if you went in there.
Biggest fright I got was when I was repairing a machine which grinds up waste with great spinning hammers. I was in it up to my shoulder when I realized I had forgotten to ‘lock out’ the machine – literally place a padlock on the control switch. A switch which was on the other side of the factory and could be easily activated by any number of people in the course of their duties. I had to sit down for a minute, in a cold sweat…then run like hell to lock it out before someone activated the disassembled machine.
Part of the press system used microwaves to cure the glue as the beam was being formed - 80,000 watts of microwave power provided by four magnetrons. Once, 4 men were down in the press conducting repairs when they realized one of the four magnetrons was still running and the men were being hit with 20,000 watts of microwave radiation. I don’t know what frequency they operated at but the men were relatively unharmed, though rather flushed looking. But the company was diligent and safety was paramount. The following day there was a notice posted:
…if you feel you may have [possibly, allegedly] been exposed to microwave radiation, inform your supervisor immediately.
There were four massive veneer dryers operating 24/7 and we had fires daily, mostly just the smoldering type. We were all required to take 8 hours of fire training but I only had to actually unroll hoses once. During training we were 4 stories up, on the roof, pretending to fight a fire when my colleague said what we were all thinking “Man, if this roof catches fire, I’m not bloody coming up here. I’m going home. They can call the fire department.”
There were overhead pipes carrying super-heated oil. We were told if these pipes ruptured, contact with the air would cause the oil to instantly ignite. There was a room, above the glue-dipping system, where the air was fogged with a vapor of formaldehyde based glue. You held your breath if you went in there.
Biggest fright I got was when I was repairing a machine which grinds up waste with great spinning hammers. I was in it up to my shoulder when I realized I had forgotten to ‘lock out’ the machine – literally place a padlock on the control switch. A switch which was on the other side of the factory and could be easily activated by any number of people in the course of their duties. I had to sit down for a minute, in a cold sweat…then run like hell to lock it out before someone activated the disassembled machine.
Part of the press system used microwaves to cure the glue as the beam was being formed - 80,000 watts of microwave power provided by four magnetrons. Once, 4 men were down in the press conducting repairs when they realized one of the four magnetrons was still running and the men were being hit with 20,000 watts of microwave radiation. I don’t know what frequency they operated at but the men were relatively unharmed, though rather flushed looking. But the company was diligent and safety was paramount. The following day there was a notice posted:
How To Tell The Effects Of Microwave Radiation Exposure
1) You may begin to feel warm.
2) Slight headache…
…if you feel you may have [possibly, allegedly] been exposed to microwave radiation, inform your supervisor immediately.
7 comments:
I would have thought it more something like this...
How To Tell The Effects Of Microwave Radiation Exposure
- You glow green
- You've impregnated your wife just by looking at her
- You've got spidey sense
- You've got a second head
Find those guys. We need them for the Baboon Army Project!
Maybe one of them has a hacksaw too.
You smell like BBQ, and your pee is 192 C.
Of course I don't know the boiling point of urine but I imagine its similar to water. So if what Sandra says is true, the urine would have to remain under pressure to reach 192c. So you would develop a bladder full of high pressure urine steam...
you're bound to notice that.
'Zactly, Mr Skookum Joe, Sir. Pop!
hmmmm... you know, this plant is the perfect place for a villian to gain their dysfiguring super powers.
i reminds me of a part from the outer limits. they guys are crawling by the reactor on a spaceship and the machine begins to hum. one of the guys annonces "well, congradulations gentlemen, we're sterile."
I knew humming could be annoying, but I didn't know it could make you sterile.
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