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Cake day: March 28th, 2024

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  • I was poly for about a decade. There’s a lot of solid advice in this thread. The only point I want to hammer home is the amount of unavoidable drama inherent to human romantic relationships increases significantly. It doesn’t just double: going from a two to three person relationship it quadruples.

    Nothing disastrous or even bad happened due to being poly. I don’t regret it at all and would consider it again in the future. When I met my current partner and they said they wanted to be monogamous, though, I was happy to take a break.












  • SoleInvictustoMildly Infuriating@lemmy.worldSweatshop
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    2 days ago

    Talking story is my favorite part of EHS! I’ve spent a lot of time working in the semiconductor industry. It uses some terrible chemicals, one of which is hydrofluoric acid, HF. HF is awful. Exposure to moderate amounts usually doesn’t do anything. Not immediately. Without treatment, a very painful burn will appear about 24-36 hours later, as if by magic, due to liquefaction necrosis: it dissolves your tissue into a jelly. Small burns just hurt a lot, big burns can result in abscesses.

    It has a very high affinity for calcium, so a single large exposure can result in cardiac arrest due to it binding the calcium in your blood. Chronic exposure to low levels can lead to it leeching the calcium out of your bones, resulting in bones collapsing or simply dying. This is very painful.

    Despite it being scary, it’s dead simple to work with: don’t get it on your skin. If you do, wash it off, slather on a calcium gel, and it’ll likely be like nothing happened.



  • SoleInvictustoMildly Infuriating@lemmy.worldSweatshop
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    2 days ago

    Awww, thanks! I’ve worked in some dangerous industries, which tends to make employees very grateful that I’m actively working to keep their bones undissolved (not exaggerating), so I luckily get a lot of love in between the safety cop jokes. Plus if they’re nice to me I’ll show them where they won’t get caught napping.



  • SoleInvictustoMildly Infuriating@lemmy.worldSweatshop
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    2 days ago

    Oh no, please argue with me! I always tell my crews to call me out if they disagree. I’m not perfect, I get things wrong. It’s hokey but true: safety is a team effort.

    I would recommend bringing up the OSHA guidelines as suggestions on how to improve the workplace and thereby worker morale. There likely isn’t much that’s enforceable that they could report to OSHA as it stands - they seem to be closer to “really damn uncomfortable” territory than imminent danger, but there may be more to this situation I’m not aware of. Getting OSHA in for something unrelated but enforceable is a good tactic too. Keep in mind a certain dipshit administration has cut funding and gutted agencies, so response times may be slow.

    I do caution folks to be strategic about speaking up and filing complaints, and to keep a detailed CYA paper trail of EVERYTHING they can for at least a year afterwards, more if they have a sketchy employer. While it’s illegal to retaliate, at-will employment makes it really easy to do so anyhow. I know - I, the damn safety person, once got fired for getting hurt on the job!


  • SoleInvictustoMildly Infuriating@lemmy.worldSweatshop
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    2 days ago

    You are 100% correct about concern for wet bulb temperature above body temperature, although we start getting concerned at a couple of degrees below body temperature too. The environment has to be a bit cooler so waste heat can be dumped fast enough, otherwise body temperature will begin to increase. Two degrees cooler is barely enough and it’s a miserable experience if you’re doing anything.


  • SoleInvictustoMildly Infuriating@lemmy.worldSweatshop
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    2 days ago

    Preface: I work in environmental, health, and safety, and industrial hygiene, so this is my job. Not stating I know all there is to know, just that I know some.

    The problem is those are all recommendations, not regulations, so nothing there is enforceable. The NWS heat index advice is meant for the general population without accounting for any mitigating conditions - it’s a catch-all recommendation. It’s meant for you, me, and my 400 pound, 90 year old neighbor with congestive heart failure, all sitting in direct sun without any water or moving air. Millions of people work in hotter conditions on a regular basis, and can do so safely as long as extensive precautions are taken. It’s not comfortable, but it’s safe as long as people are smart about it. Is OP’s employer being smart? Maybe. Let’s go through it together!

    Let’s go off of Cal/OSHA’s guidelines, which is a decent program. I think it needs a hard “stop working it’s too damn hot” cutoff, but that’s just me (and every other safety person). Anyhow… if OP has hit 95°F, with a relative humidity of 50%, their heat index is 105. For anything above 80°F, employees need access to a nearby cooler rest area below 82°F. A work environment at 87+°F (82°F w/ hot clothing or high radiant heat) triggers a further response from the employer, foremost in the form of feasible engineering controls - things that make it cooler. This could include air conditioning but, for a larger workplace environment, often ends up being ventilation in the form of big industrial fans since HVAC is massively expensive. Don’t discount the fans, though - I got one at auction and they seriously kick ass. If the employer can afford HVAC but opts for fans, it’s still legal as long as fans work sufficiently (i.e., this wouldn’t fly in a foundry but is fine in many factories), but the employer is just a piece of shit. 'Murica! Past that, we go to administrative controls - changing what people do. This includes mandatory 14 day acclimation periods for new employees, breaks in an air-conditioned space, scheduled hydration, monitoring for non-acclimated employees, and an emergency response plan. Then we’re on to PPE - neck fans, cooling vests, ice packs, etc. The stuff you use when everything else still doesn’t quite cut it.

    I don’t know the exact details of op’s workplace but, based on what they’ve communicated, their workplace likely isn’t a serious hazard for a reasonably healthy, heat-acclimated adult taking at least most of the above heat illness precautions. I need more info (like if they’re working with ovens or other heat producing equipment) but my professional, somewhat off-the-cuff recommendation is employees be dressed appropriately, acclimated to the temperature, remain hydrated, take periodic rest breaks in an air conditioned space (I’d advise 10 minutes on the hour, maybe more), and implement a monitoring/emergency response program. Work won’t be comfortable, but it’s unlikely to hurt anyone based on my current, incomplete understanding. Is their boss a giant turd for not getting HVAC when building a helipad was a consideration? Definitely.