One summer I worked landscape maintenance for a subcontractor of Cabot Performance Materials. Among other things, they turn mineral coltan into tantalum metal.
Dangerous situation? This plant had it all. Huge outdoor tanks of concentrated HF (Hydrofluoric Acid). 75 KV power transmission lines and transformers that went down to the ground (at this voltage, electricity can ionize the air and arc ). 'Lagoons' of evaporating wastewater with very carcinogenic sludge. High concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and worryingly, the dust that got kicked up by our activities. And not last or least, the plant had a concrete 'mausoleum' where they permanently stored their radioactive waste.
A year before that summer, I learned that my boss got 'hit'. There was a massive leak of HF and he accidentally rode his lawnmower through the cloud of acid and toxic byproducts. He had to go to the hospital (and probably should have sued the company, but it was his only source of income and for some reason he felt loyal). He has since passed away - and only in his 60s. It makes you wonder how many years this work took from him. His kidneys were completely shot, and he always looked a lot older than he was.
Nothing so bad happened to me, but I'm glad I only spent 2 months working there (not decades like my boss). Most of the work was in fields and property away from the worst of it. But I still wonder what damage I might have done on a cellular level from that brief gig.
One summer I worked landscape maintenance for a subcontractor of Cabot Performance Materials. Among other things, they turn mineral coltan into tantalum metal.
Dangerous situation? This plant had it all. Huge outdoor tanks of concentrated HF (Hydrofluoric Acid). 75 KV power transmission lines and transformers that went down to the ground (at this voltage, electricity can ionize the air and arc ). 'Lagoons' of evaporating wastewater with very carcinogenic sludge. High concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and worryingly, the dust that got kicked up by our activities. And not last or least, the plant had a concrete 'mausoleum' where they permanently stored their radioactive waste.
A year before that summer, I learned that my boss got 'hit'. There was a massive leak of HF and he accidentally rode his lawnmower through the cloud of acid and toxic byproducts. He had to go to the hospital (and probably should have sued the company, but it was his only source of income and for some reason he felt loyal). He has since passed away - and only in his 60s. It makes you wonder how many years this work took from him. His kidneys were completely shot, and he always looked a lot older than he was.
Nothing so bad happened to me, but I'm glad I only spent 2 months working there (not decades like my boss). Most of the work was in fields and property away from the worst of it. But I still wonder what damage I might have done on a cellular level from that brief gig.