Work-A-Day World, Part II

(Originally written 21 January 2010, 21:30 Central Time)

And thus ends my first full week with Atikokan Renewable Fuels. And I am just about as sore as I’ve ever been. The plant’s not even in production yet – we’re still trying to clear out all the junk that came with the place. The majority of the machinery, in one case an eighty-something foot long press for making particle board, is being disassembled and sold to a company in Malaysia.

After that, the largest thing in there will be the cloud of sawdust being ejected from the complex via air compressor, which will probably gather condensation in the atmosphere and dump a foot of snow on the area. As stated, the factory was once the site of a particle board plant, and a major employer in the area – until it went bankrupt several years ago. And it would seem that in their sunset hours, they didn’t see fit to do anything but produce more and more of their product, in hopes they could sell enough to stay afloat. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Except when you take into account that one of the several things they didn’t do is clean up the place. And this is one place with a nasty reputation.

Let me put it succinctly: sawdust, in large quantities, is one of the worst fire hazards imaginable. It will burn very quickly, to the point where one could classify it as a flashover or other form of minor explosion. All the primary wiring, supplying power to the machines, is in underground trenches under at least three feet of fireproof insulation. I’ve heard jokes (though I’m not sure if there’s a complete lack of truth in it) that the area’s fire department had a pumper on stand-by at all times for this place alone. And this is the place I’m working. (For the first time I can recall, Indigo, I share your concerns for my safety.)

Of course, we have three or four people on the only running shift in the factory dedicated solely to watching out for fires in the making. And so far, the only thing that I’ve seen which could set off a fire was some of the guys throwing off sparks from cutting up the machinery – with a half dozen fire extinguishers nearby. But there’s still a lot of sawdust lying around. And when I say a lot, I’m not just meaning a couple of large piles. There are no large piles – it’s just everywhere you look, and then some. (For those curious, we’ve already considered calling Mike Rowe from ‘Dirty Jobs’ – I’m going to talk to the big boss Monday about it.)

So far, I’ve been working with Tesla, in lieu of the paperwork arriving for my apprenticeship, in shutting down all power flow to the multi-hundred tonne presses from the building’s former regime, as well as clearing out all the old wiring, most of which was probably old before I was born. Though, instead of calling it wiring, I should just say power cables, each of which capable of running up to 200 amps in some cases. (For those like I was a week ago, the more amps a cable has to transport, the thicker it has to be.) And some of these cables are as long, or longer, than the machines themselves. So, there’s my job: cutting the cables, some of which would easily outweigh me, keeping them as intact as possible, and dragging them out of the machines.

Now, here’s the next problem. Very few of these cables are at ground level. If I’m really lucky, and God is being kind, the one I’m chopping out at any given time will force me to stoop a little, putting my back in a very uncomfortable position for several seconds. 98% of them require stand on the very top of a step ladder, with the only thing to grab is an elevated cable tray Tesla himself has described as being ‘fragile on a good day.’

So to summarize, I’m working in a place that could be put under a mushroom cloud from one lucky spark and put me in a hospital’s burn unit. I could have my spine (or that damned third lumbar ligament) seize up on me from repeated bending and hauling heavy loads. I could also have my knees decide they don’t like me anymore for the same reason, with the same result. I could be cutting through a cable and loose my footing at the top of an eight foot ladder. I could find that one lucky cable that everyone forgot still had a couple dozen amps going through it.

At least they gave me a hard hat.