The Shocking Truth Working In a Chemical Plant

What a unique experience.

Was it "Axis Chemicals" in Gotham?

It's amazing that any company would let an unlicensed forklift driver move hazardous and deadly chemicals around with a forklift.

There is vegan 🧼 soap.

Fascinating, as usual. I was doing research lab chemistry from age 18 to 23. Occasionally as a joke I would put small blobs of "chromic acid" (conc. H2SO4 plus potassium dichromate of course) on the back of my hand to see how long before it started to tingle. About 10 seconds. I wouldn't have touched HF with a bargepole. Nor would "they" have trusted me. Some in the lab did use it however. Biggest problem was occasional solvent fires, for instance when your hair starts to go all warm & tingly. I imagine you would have used shedloads of alkali-hydroxides too ?

Well whow come, you don't still work there?

and still the acid you were dealing with wouldnt be as toxic as your managers or HR

My work is in laboratory automation. Mainly I work with biological researchers. I was also trained as a biologist myself and have created automated systems for genetic engineering, viral packaging, etc. So, mostly biological hazards. We certainly have lots of hazardous chemicals around as well. However, besides the infection risks, for us, a large hazard is defined as a 1 liter jug of acid, a pressurized hydrogen tank, some carcinogens in 20, 50, maybe 100g quantities, and some high temp steam processes. We have significant safety protocols in place regarding each of these hazards. At one place, we once had a spill of appx 500ml glacial acetic acid during a VIP visit in the lab, inside of a fume hood. That cost an employee his job, and nearly his boss as well. I imagine in your context you have handled far larger quantities of this. The idea of hoisting palletized, 44 gallon barrels of HF onto the third tier of a stack using a forklift - by an unlicensed operator - honestly boggles my mind. The safety officer (which I imagine you must have had by law) must value your lives and their job very little.

This job sounds very interesting, much like my science channel in which I mix all kinds of chemicals together or burn sparkles and glow sticks. Chemistry is fascinating

Thats crazy dude, i hope youre alright. Those people need to be fined and arrested for negligence.

I worked as a "Darkroom Rat" for 3 decades and I can tell you that the chemicals killed the warts on my hands!!!

HF is technically a weak acid (in the thermodynamic sense) but that's part of what makes it so dangerous. It's extremely reactive and fluorine is so strongly electronegative it can displace oxygen in other materials like concrete and bone but the relatively low acidity (compared with strong acids like HCL or H2SO4) means it doesn't sting that much when it touches your skin but if it gets into your blood it can de-calcify your bones, which needless to say is not good.....

Ok, you easily win, you beat me for worst job ever. Mine was dishwasher in a restaurant. It's hot, gross, stressful, and everyone is your boss. But here it's pretty much the only job that will hire older workers.

Don’t feel bad about tipping over the HF barrel (I know I wouldn’t ) and besides Beavis and Butthead would be proud 😊 (ah ha ah ha ah ha …….)

From 1989 to 1991, I worked in a powder processing plant and we worked with toner frequently , and I wore a face mask with fine particle filters. Even with the over the top protection, I would still cough out black mucous or wake up with black boogers.
We used to sing Black Boogers In Bed to the tune of Black Coffee In Bed by Squeeze to lesson the torture.


Tons of hazards at that plant (Loud noises, fine dust of a cocktail of different powders to be grounded, which was ever present, electrical hazards, a hyper stressed out boss who hollered at almost every one of us if you effed up in his book, water hazards from cleaning the machinery (slipping and falling) etc.

I think the 2 years I worked there was probably equivalent to 4 years of my life taken off. Luckily I was 23 when I quit, with no kids and only myself to worry about. Even back then, I thought life was too short for that type of misery.

Working in such a place long term could affect one's health .