Road trip

orthodoc · 06-03-2013, 04:29 PM

My travels have been pretty restricted in the past year, the only recent road trip having ended in a magnificent crash-landing of gastro and drive-to-rescue-son-with-broken-ankle-while-barfing. So tomorrow I get to give it another try.

This trip will be the antithesis of romantic (although the last one inadvertently ended up in that category and has now achieved party-story status in my department at work. To be fair, the lack of romance was 100% my fault.) I'm on a worksite evaluation course this week and tomorrow will head, along with my eight classmates, to an undisclosed location five hours west of here. There we'll meet up with a larger group of grad students who are taking the Toxic Cities Tour, a sort of Grand Tour of the most dangerous industrial sites in the country.

My fellow resident and I spent almost a week at this site last July, so we basically know the ropes. The place uses a very dangerous element that is only a risk to about 25% of the population, but for that 25% exposure means a good chance of death. Following the rules to avoid exposure is very very important.

It's an interesting ethical and environmental conundrum. The element really can't be replaced by anything safer in its applications. People can be genetically tested to see if they're in the susceptible 25%. The susceptible group won't get ill if they have excellent on-site protection, and the work pays far more than anything else in the area.

How does the company proceed, ethically?

We'll be touring the place in full protective gear, although last year gave my friend and I a much more in-depth experience (hopefully not exposure!). Full Tyvek suits over company clothes and shoes, PAPRs, clean and 'dirty' lockers, shower out and wear different underwear home (insert jealous spouse joke here). It'll be interesting to talk to the NYC folks and get their impressions.

What do you think would be the best way to hire and protect employees in such a situation? Not everyone is susceptible. GINA exists. The pay is good. The company far exceeds OSHA standards in terms of the exposure levels they achieve. But, as Vizzini says in The Princess Bride, death is on the line!

If anyone is interested, I can provide more details from various industrial road trips this week. If it's tmi or ho-hum, then of course, not.

06-03-2013, 04:29 PM	#1
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Road trip My travels have been pretty restricted in the past year, the only recent road trip having ended in a magnificent crash-landing of gastro and drive-to-rescue-son-with-broken-ankle-while-barfing. So tomorrow I get to give it another try. This trip will be the antithesis of romantic (although the last one inadvertently ended up in that category and has now achieved party-story status in my department at work. To be fair, the lack of romance was 100% my fault.) I'm on a worksite evaluation course this week and tomorrow will head, along with my eight classmates, to an undisclosed location five hours west of here. There we'll meet up with a larger group of grad students who are taking the Toxic Cities Tour, a sort of Grand Tour of the most dangerous industrial sites in the country. My fellow resident and I spent almost a week at this site last July, so we basically know the ropes. The place uses a very dangerous element that is only a risk to about 25% of the population, but for that 25% exposure means a good chance of death. Following the rules to avoid exposure is very very important. It's an interesting ethical and environmental conundrum. The element really can't be replaced by anything safer in its applications. People can be genetically tested to see if they're in the susceptible 25%. The susceptible group won't get ill if they have excellent on-site protection, and the work pays far more than anything else in the area. How does the company proceed, ethically? We'll be touring the place in full protective gear, although last year gave my friend and I a much more in-depth experience (hopefully not exposure!). Full Tyvek suits over company clothes and shoes, PAPRs, clean and 'dirty' lockers, shower out and wear different underwear home (insert jealous spouse joke here). It'll be interesting to talk to the NYC folks and get their impressions. What do you think would be the best way to hire and protect employees in such a situation? Not everyone is susceptible. GINA exists. The pay is good. The company far exceeds OSHA standards in terms of the exposure levels they achieve. But, as Vizzini says in The Princess Bride, death is on the line! If anyone is interested, I can provide more details from various industrial road trips this week. If it's tmi or ho-hum, then of course, not. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

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