I'm much happier now with nothing more serious than RSI to worry about.
I'm much happier now with nothing more serious than RSI to worry about.
We'd carry gas masks with us constantly. I had to wear an acid proof suit in 105 degree heat. Geiger counter checks in and out the door.
I ended up breaking my ankle playing basketball and was forced to stay in a trailer so that my cast wouldn't get contaminated with uranium. Since I couldn't do my regular engineering stuff, I had to program stuff on computers the rest of the summer. Much better :) Changed my life forever.
Anyone who doubts this can happen should read about Karen Wetterhahn [1], who was killed in 1996 by a couple of drops of dimethylmercury that went through her glove. Another nasty chemical to avoid.
The "dimethyl" is not what it's important.
I recall one time happening to see two other students applying solutions to the faucets handles of one of the lab desk sinks after a lab, because they thought it would be a funny prank upon whoever next used that sink.
Other times, stuff gets spilled by people who don't know better, don't understand the resulting risk, and/or just don't care enough to "do the right thing". And so inadequate cleanup leaves traces for others to stumble through, likely with know knowledge of the problem.
In my subsequent life, outside of a lab, I've repeatedly encountered significant health risks created by as well as ignored and/or abandoned by people who "don't know" or "don't care".
In broader life, buildings are full of lead, asbestos, and everything else, and putative penalties aside, it's basically "buyer beware" as far as inheriting someone else's problem (inheriting to your own personal liability and financial risk, not to mention possible health risks).
As much as "stuff I won't work with", I've developed an attitude of "people I won't work with".
There is a chemical compound called MPTP. It's directly toxic to dopamine neurons. They only discovered it when an underground chemist accidentally made it when try to synthesize a synthetic heroin (for lack of a better term).
I remember a chemist on the East Coast went back and looked at the structure and realized the stuff he had be working on had that active core. He had worked on it for 5+ years.
The problem is, you don't get symptoms of Parkinson's unless you've lost close to 80% of your neurons. I'm sure that East Coast chemist is dam near guaranteed to get Parkinson's at an early age.