(no subject)
Today (Day 4 of 5 of HAZWOPER Training)
We FINALLY got to put on respirators and SCBA (basically "SCUBA" without the "U")...which was awesome except I was sweating profusely and had a *slight* panic attack while using the SCBA. As soon as I opened the air tank to breath through my mask, I heard air flowing (which you shouldn't be able to hear...the thing just gives you air when you breath in) so I freak out and try to shut off my air tank...only I couldn't remember which way "off" was. (I now realize this would have been the dumbest idea ever had it actually worked...I had the mask and respirator hooked in so if I turned off the air flow I wouldn't have been able to breathe...) So I started trying to get the instructors attention b/c all I could think of was the tank exploding and it completely freaked me out. He came over and said it was just the line that goes to the valve (that reads if the tank is full) and that there was a tear in it.
Ok, I know I'm spastic, but the rest of the time the thing was on all I could picture was me blowing up and I wanted to just rip the thing off. He kept trying to get us to "breathe slowly" but I was breathing so fast and shaking and sweating that I thought I might have to tell him to get me out of the stuff before I had some sort of panic attack. Anyway...tomorrow we're supposed to wear the same tanks, so they better fix mine or else I may pass out tomorrow when we're in them for 4-5 hours in full tyvek suits in 90 degree weather.
Today was also cool b/c before my whole SCBA freak out we used full-face masks with particulate filters and had to inhale stannic chrlorine to make sure we couldn't smell it. Afterwards, he made us smell the actual stuff without the masks just to see what it was that we were being protected from...but of course I breathed way to deep and I think burned my throat and started hacking. Cool? (I feel like I need to admit that when I first wrote that sentence I wrote "thinked"...ummm yeah.)
So tomorrow we have to dress in full Level A (the highest) gear with air lines (the people offsite will control our air) and do some random work outside in groups of 3. I hate my instructor b/c he told us that at one of the stations, he's going to cut all of our air supply off at the same time...so basically if we can't find our emergency tank, we suffocate? Is this why I had to sign that waiver? He said it's "fun to watch people freak out." Seriously, it seems cruel. I don't mind holding my breath...but I'm kind of afraid of my reaction when I'm in the middle of taking a breath and my suit suddenly become a vacuum. Apparently...every year at least one person completely freaks and either starts sprinting (to where is beyond me) or just stands there and forgets what to do until their partner can get to them to turn on their emergency supply.
What did I get myself into? Maybe I won't have to worry about finding a real job b/c I may not survive this one.
We FINALLY got to put on respirators and SCBA (basically "SCUBA" without the "U")...which was awesome except I was sweating profusely and had a *slight* panic attack while using the SCBA. As soon as I opened the air tank to breath through my mask, I heard air flowing (which you shouldn't be able to hear...the thing just gives you air when you breath in) so I freak out and try to shut off my air tank...only I couldn't remember which way "off" was. (I now realize this would have been the dumbest idea ever had it actually worked...I had the mask and respirator hooked in so if I turned off the air flow I wouldn't have been able to breathe...) So I started trying to get the instructors attention b/c all I could think of was the tank exploding and it completely freaked me out. He came over and said it was just the line that goes to the valve (that reads if the tank is full) and that there was a tear in it.
Ok, I know I'm spastic, but the rest of the time the thing was on all I could picture was me blowing up and I wanted to just rip the thing off. He kept trying to get us to "breathe slowly" but I was breathing so fast and shaking and sweating that I thought I might have to tell him to get me out of the stuff before I had some sort of panic attack. Anyway...tomorrow we're supposed to wear the same tanks, so they better fix mine or else I may pass out tomorrow when we're in them for 4-5 hours in full tyvek suits in 90 degree weather.
Today was also cool b/c before my whole SCBA freak out we used full-face masks with particulate filters and had to inhale stannic chrlorine to make sure we couldn't smell it. Afterwards, he made us smell the actual stuff without the masks just to see what it was that we were being protected from...but of course I breathed way to deep and I think burned my throat and started hacking. Cool? (I feel like I need to admit that when I first wrote that sentence I wrote "thinked"...ummm yeah.)
So tomorrow we have to dress in full Level A (the highest) gear with air lines (the people offsite will control our air) and do some random work outside in groups of 3. I hate my instructor b/c he told us that at one of the stations, he's going to cut all of our air supply off at the same time...so basically if we can't find our emergency tank, we suffocate? Is this why I had to sign that waiver? He said it's "fun to watch people freak out." Seriously, it seems cruel. I don't mind holding my breath...but I'm kind of afraid of my reaction when I'm in the middle of taking a breath and my suit suddenly become a vacuum. Apparently...every year at least one person completely freaks and either starts sprinting (to where is beyond me) or just stands there and forgets what to do until their partner can get to them to turn on their emergency supply.
What did I get myself into? Maybe I won't have to worry about finding a real job b/c I may not survive this one.