Safety Archives - Blowing It

March 2, 2020March 3, 2020

Putting Dry Ice In A Swimming Pool. Avoiding Blowing It #253

Dry Ice Is Pure Carbon Dioxide. First Breath Knocks You Unconscious, Second Kills You.

Over the weekend at a party in Moscow. A few people thought it would be a good idea to put dry ice in a swimming pool. If you ever witnessed dry ices smokey vapor billow from it’s interaction with a glass of water. You would deem it’s cool looking science. You could unwittingly surmise that it would be much cooler on a grander scale. I believe that thought may have crossed the minds of the party goers in Moscow. And three people died because of it.

If you have ever worked around CO2 you know that it is a very dangerous gas. In a brewery for instance you’re taught never to put your head into a fermenter or bright tank if CO2 could be present. There are CO2 detectors all through out the brewery. Why? Because CO2 is so deadly. As the saying goes the first breathe will knock you unconscious and the second will kill you. Carbon Dioxide is heavier than air so it settles to ground level. So when you do ultimately pass out you’re blanketed by the gas once on the floor.

So if you put it in a pool right where your head bobs out is a thick layer of deadly gas. Just small breathe of it is like a punch to the face if you can survive the knock out blow. Get out of there immediately. A pool is actually a multiplier of the danger. You hold your breath to go under water when you come up the first thing you want to do is take a big breathe and bam like that you’re unconscious. Hard for anyone to save you because you would need a oxygen tank just to breathe while exerting yourself in that environment. Others would parish too without it if they tried to jump into to the pool to grab others.

Just err on the side of caution. If you want a smokey pool rent a smoke machine. And take gases very seriously if you don’t know how they affect the body don’t use them. The fact that you have to be 18 to purchase dry ice should signify the dangers but maybe we need even more warning labels.

July 31, 2019August 2, 2019

The Dangers Of Energy Drinks #208.

We Should All Probably Avoid Energy Drinks.

The health risks are high with this very popular, very common beverage. There should be warning labels on energy drinks. Drink at your own risk, can cause untimely immediate death.

Hospitals have seen an increase in younger patients with all kinds of life threatening ailments. Due to elevated levels of sugar and caffeine in these drinks. It only takes one energy drink to throw your heart out of rhythm causing arrhythmia. And with that interference it can send you into cardiac arrest or stroke. Which can often lead to death.

American Heart Association Findings

Even the American Heart Association found that caffeinated energy drinks. Altered the electrical activity of the heart and raised blood pressure. Not only do they contain high levels of caffeine. Many also contain Guarana which breaks down into it’s own form of caffeine in the body. As well as Taurine which has been known to cause brain damage in rats.

Beware Of The Many Dangers Of Energy Drinks.

Getting an increase in unnatural supply of any chemical is going to have adverse affects upon the body. Know the dangers and know that it only takes one drink to throw your heart out of whack. I highly recommend avoiding them at all cost and would suggest finding a healthy all natural alternative. Drink natural fresh made organic fruit or vegetable juices or have tea and if tea isn’t enough try coffee. But again limit yourself, you don’t want your body to become dependent. Lastly get good sleep so you don’t even need energy drinks.

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March 11, 2019July 17, 2019

Selling A Plane That Crashes #186.

A Second Boeing 737-Max 8 Plane Has Crashed, Killing All On Board. It Seems Highly Likely It’s The Same Scenario As The First Crash.

Yet, the brand new Boeing 737-Max 8 has two to it’s name in so many months. And from the sound of it it might be the exact same problem that took the first plane down, happened to the second. It’s a bit scary when it’s not strictly operator error we have to worry about. The human element of aviation has been quite efficiently tuned to correct mistakes. But what happens when it’s a mechanical malfunction on a brand new plane that effectively forces the plane into a crash? Human correction might not have the tools to counter the effects of a doomed machine.

What Should They Do With This Plane?

If I’m Boeing I would pull ever single one of the new jets out of service, have my very best engineers work out the problems, correct every single jet, change the name of the new corrected jet. For me if I see 737-max 8 painted on the side of a jet I’m flying on, I’m reluctant to board that flight.

Boeing Created This New Efficient, Albeit Problematic Plane.

This is a Boeing problem and that is highly concerning because they haven’t much competition when it comes to manufacturing aircrafts. The purchaser of the planes can’t simply go elsewhere for a better model. They have to hope and trust that the plane they bought. The one that left the factory brand new, that new plane is going to be in good working order when they start flying passengers all over the world. And if it isn’t, it should never leave the factory. If it’s not in perfect working condition, don’t ship. Many more test need to be done, this plane is not air ready. All planes should be grounded until further repair. However Boeing wouldn’t be a 100 plus year company if it didn’t correct it’s failures. This failure will most likely make aviation even safer in the end.

January 21, 2019July 20, 2019

Playing Hide And Seek In An Abandoned Warehouse #177.

Although This Sounds Like It Could Be A Blast For Kids. Think Before You Hide And Seek For You May Not Make It Out Alive.

Last week a kid in his early twenties passed away while playing hide and seek with two of his friends. They started the game in the pitch black of night creating a recipe for disaster. From the sound of it they were just a couple of playful kids looking for a unique way to have a good time.

It’s Not Safe In A Pitch Black Warehouse.

However what they didn’t take into account is the is the safety of a multi story warehouse that hasn’t been maintained in years. It’s very much like a construction site. Unfinished in areas, due more to decay and neglect rather than being a work in progress. Yet if you ever enter a construction site everywhere you look there are safety measure to keep you alive. Danger tape near fall hazards, warnings of hazardous materials, A safety supervisor to make sure all are following the rules. Sometimes it’s slightly over kill but in this case over kill equals living to see the next day, so it works.

Now when these boys entered the abandoned warehouse they didn’t have the luxury of sight, let alone safety measures in place that could keep them out of harms way. So imagine there surprise when one of them entered a dark room probably thinking it was safe to enter.

Visual Tricks.

Maybe the shadows made it look like just another room with solid floors but come to find out floors don’t exist at all in this room. As you step in you immediately begin your rapid decent, in that instance it might register to you that this is the elevator shaft. An open hole from the roof of the building to the ground.

It’s a false sense of security when it’s enclosed within the building, you don’t think of it like a fall off the side of a building but it’s the exact same thing.

So after the other two friends were unable to find their fallen comrade they were forced to seek help. That’s when they found the devastatingly tragic news that there friend fell to his death in the middle of what was intended to be a fun experience.

It was simply a freak accident but let it be a lesson so others won’t fall to the same fate. If you are going to partake in a game especially if this game takes place in an abandoned warehouse. Make sure you take safety precautions first. Take a walk through in the day time, if you see hazards barricade them off. Or better yet just stay out of the building altogether. Have fun in life but just make sure you go home safe and alive at the end of the day.