Surviving the chemicals at work
Yesterday something strange happened at work.
I was walking to the restrooms which are located at the center of the building near the lifts. When I approached middle of the floor the strong stench of petrol/benzene/diesel suddenly enveloped me. Thankfully not powerful enough to force me back. As I walked back to my desk I noticed the smell was spreading, eek! Thankfully my desk was clear for the moment. Back to work I noticed that there was a series of emails. Firstly:
- 'The building mangers have been notified of the smell. They are addressing the problem'
followed by:
- 'The source has been identified. A contractor near an air-conditioning inlet vent is using WD-40'.
Well that is nice, in an attempt to loosen a rusty bolt with the universal screw loosener, a workmen as tried to poison the floor. Thankfully it will take a few doses to kill us.
Thankfully I am reasonably tolerant to the chemicals that the building throws at me. One the computer programmers can not tolerate the new carpet though. He spends his life working in the computer room. Surrounded by noisy servers with air vents everywhere keeping the machines cool. The poor man sits at a computer with strong ear muffs. Sometimes I am envious because down there you know the air HAS to be cool otherwise things would be going berserk. Also if there is dust or chemicals in the air then the smoke detectors would flood the place with water.
I was walking to the restrooms which are located at the center of the building near the lifts. When I approached middle of the floor the strong stench of petrol/benzene/diesel suddenly enveloped me. Thankfully not powerful enough to force me back. As I walked back to my desk I noticed the smell was spreading, eek! Thankfully my desk was clear for the moment. Back to work I noticed that there was a series of emails. Firstly:
- 'The building mangers have been notified of the smell. They are addressing the problem'
followed by:
- 'The source has been identified. A contractor near an air-conditioning inlet vent is using WD-40'.
Well that is nice, in an attempt to loosen a rusty bolt with the universal screw loosener, a workmen as tried to poison the floor. Thankfully it will take a few doses to kill us.
Thankfully I am reasonably tolerant to the chemicals that the building throws at me. One the computer programmers can not tolerate the new carpet though. He spends his life working in the computer room. Surrounded by noisy servers with air vents everywhere keeping the machines cool. The poor man sits at a computer with strong ear muffs. Sometimes I am envious because down there you know the air HAS to be cool otherwise things would be going berserk. Also if there is dust or chemicals in the air then the smoke detectors would flood the place with water.