Construction and Industrial Articles
posted on 7 December 2011
The Halloween snowstorm that gripped the northeast was an utter shock to everyone’s expectations and internal calendars. It was also an utter shock to the region’s fields, flowers, shrubs and trees. In some places, branches were laden with nearly two feet of heavy, wet snow. And like many storms, the bulk of the precipitation came at night. One of my friends flew from her bed at the sound of a loud crack, hitting the floor as if war had broken out in her own New England neighborhood. Then she listened as a tree fell past – thankfully, no onto – her home. By morning, one had fallen nearly even with each line of the house, boxing it in with no harm to the structure. Limbs and branches crashed to the ground everywhere, taking power and utility lines with them. Normally sturdy oaks and maples broke like matchsticks six to eight feet from the ground. Even an oil tank was busted open and we had to secure it with a tanklok.
Parts of our town did not regain electric power for a week, and clean up is still going on nearly a month later. Piles of brush and branches are not unusual along the roads, utility workers reduce our streets to one way traffic, and the town waste center has special traffic directors helping people with loads of wood and waste get in and out of that area of our dump. We are all thankful the weather was no colder, and many people are taking solace in the fuel that was felled for heating. Nevertheless, it was a tremendous mess to clean up, and we will see it in the amortized fees in our utility bills. |
|
posted on 25 November 2011
Safety at work isn't just about construction workers wearing flourescent overalls, there's dangers in all kinds of work environments - even offices! I work in an office setting, and the workplace conditions are pretty bad. My company is always getting fined for fire hazards. Last year only some of the fire sprinklers worked. When try to do fire drills, but most just go hide in the bathroom and smoke. We do have an eyewash station, although I don't think anybody has ever had to use it. There is always stuff on the floors like pens and trash that make you trip and slide. We had a roof leak one day all over the floor, and nobody never stuck a bucket under it, it just kept flooding and making the floors slippery. I am mainly worried about fire though. The building is old, and I doubt the wire is all that great. I work on the ninth floor, which is way to high to jump safely. I figure I will take the stair in case of a fire. We do got fire extinguishers, but if they are anything like the sprinklers, they may not work effectively. |
|
|
|
|