# is electrician an unhealthy job?



## spidey (Aug 31, 2013)

like fumes and stuff


----------



## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


Only if they get hooked on electrical forums....


----------



## EBFD6 (Aug 17, 2008)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


Some of us expel more fumes than others. I think it depends on your diet.

Around here it's mostly just a lot of hot air though.


----------



## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

There are bigger things to worry about:

*Atlantic City Electric employee dies after being hit by utility pole in Washington Township*


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

I work with a guy who releases more fumes than anyone I've ever met. Vegetarian. High fiber diet. It's awful.

The other day were driving and he dropped a silent bomb. The smell hit me just after I belched. Scared me; I thought I caused it._  "That's never happened before. I think we need to get me to an ER."_


----------



## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

What could be more manly than driving around burping and farting?

:laughing:


----------



## RHWilks (Jul 14, 2012)

PVC glue more than likely isn't good to breath. or if your bending pvc with torch, and you burn it. Working in all kinds of weather conditions, sometimes your working on a sewer life station or a water treatment plant. I am not sure how unhealthy that is. 
The painters don't shoot lacquer anymore..Need a shot of whiskey to clear that out. 
If you are worried about it, the look in your "Right to know books" AKA Material data safety sheets, and make sure you have the correct PPE.


----------



## Spunk#7 (Nov 30, 2012)

Every now and the you get attacked by "Ragin' Electrons",but aside from that it's pretty safe.:thumbsup:


----------



## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

Celtic said:


> What could be more manly than driving around burping and farting?
> 
> :laughing:


Talking about it on a public forum. :laughing:


----------



## FastFokker (Sep 18, 2012)

I just had a nasty fart... I gotta stop taking my work home.


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Celtic said:


> What could be more manly than driving around burping and farting?
> 
> :laughing:


Have you read my latest book,'The Joy Of Farting'?:laughing:


----------



## FastFokker (Sep 18, 2012)

HARRY304E said:


> Have you read my latest book,'The Joy Of Farting'?:laughing:


----------



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

Concrete dust.
Gypsum Dust.
Tannalised Timber Dust.
Hot slag falling on you from iron workers overhead.
Getting aids from a porta-loo.
Risk of electrocution.
Sciatica.
RSI from screwdrivers.
Sore back from walking on concrete.
Extreme cold.
Extreme heat.
Cuts getting infected.


----------



## Michigan Master (Feb 25, 2013)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


I'd have to say unintentionally touching the electricity is much more unhealthy than fumes and stuff. :laughing:

Honestly, it totally depends on where you work. For some of us, the only thing our job sites have in common is exposure to energized conductors and components.


----------



## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Big John said:


> I work with a guy who releases more fumes than anyone I've ever met. Vegetarian. High fiber diet. It's awful.
> 
> The other day were driving and he dropped a silent bomb. The smell hit me just after I belched. Scared me; I thought I caused it._ "That's never happened before. I think we need to get me to an ER."_


Nothing like a good old salad shooter..........


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Our work gets very physical without getting to an aerobic level.
So, we get exhausted without a decent work out.


----------



## Tonedeaf (Nov 26, 2012)

If you work in older buildings like me, You can get exposed to alot dust and dirt that can contain everything from asbestos and arsenic to lead, mercury and zinc without even knowing half the time.


----------



## bauler (Jan 2, 2008)

Vs sitting in an office cubical under florescent lighting staring at a screen all day. Now thats healthy.


----------



## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff



Chemical plants, welding galvanized steel, stick welding stainless, chlorine or chlorine dioxide at paper mills. Nope, none of that is hazardous.


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Big John said:


> I work with a guy who releases more fumes than anyone I've ever met. Vegetarian. High fiber diet. It's awful.
> 
> The other day were driving and he dropped a silent bomb. The smell hit me just after I belched. Scared me; I thought I caused it._ "That's never happened before. I think we need to get me to an ER."_


How's the truck smell!!!!:laughing:


----------



## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

if it smells like a little bit of bleach -- ok
if it smells like more bleach then you've ever smelled in your life -- run

if it smells like a fart -- ok
if it used to smell like a fart but now you can't smell anything at all -- run

if you have to run look up at the sky for the highest smoke stack and note the wind direction then run crossways, then upwind. 

if somebody goes into a "confined space" and passes out, and the next two people that try to rescue him pass out too, you can expect to pass out as well if you follow them. The unconsciousness from passing-out, in these cases, usually lasts until the 'resurrection.'

The smell of crap is actually not the worst thing you can expect to smell in heavy industry. Some things -- like ammonium polysulfide, amongst others, smells a lot worse.


----------



## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


This is an unbelievably vague question. Like to the point where it seems like trolling.

Can you elaborate a bit? 
Why are you asking? Maybe a little background?
Are you just worried about "fumes"?


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

what's worse? a few fumes? or growin' an azz the shape of your seat?


~CS~


----------



## Ibraaheem (Aug 17, 2013)

I think the only types of fumes you're going to encounter as a residential electrician is probably the dust from the attic's insulation, it's hot, very small place (Hope you're not claustrophobic) and very itchy. Other than that, I could see fumes being in industrial (depending where in industrial) and maybe the PVC glue...but that fume smells nice . As one user said, it's the least of your worries. In any trade you're going to find something that may be considered not healthy or irregular...everyday is different and is rarely ever the same. Hope this helps.


----------



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

Asbestos is the thing I worry about and GC attitudes of "Its fine so long as you don't disturb it". It only takes 1 fibre inhaled or in a hair follicle to cause asbestosis.


----------



## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

chewy said:


> Asbestos is the thing I worry about and GC attitudes of "Its fine so long as you don't disturb it". It only takes 1 fibre inhaled or in a hair follicle to cause asbestosis.



You know what I like best us? I like ass best us.


----------



## Dash Dingo (Mar 3, 2012)

chewy said:


> Asbestos is the thing I worry about and GC attitudes of "Its fine so long as you don't disturb it". It only takes 1 fibre inhaled or in a hair follicle to cause asbestosis.


Lead dust also


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Being an electrician got me hooked on PVC cement fumes. Now everytime I do a PVC job, I need to check the quality of the glue by inhaling it first.


----------



## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Shockdoc said:


> Being an electrician got me hooked on PVC cement fumes. Now everytime I do a PVC job, I need to check the quality of the glue by inhaling it first.


Pvc glue must be like a lot of other drugs. Once you sniffed it enough (unintentionally of course) you don't notice the smell that much. I've never got high off it but I've heard enough people comment about getting high on it when the walk into the room. I think the only thing Pvc glue will do is displace oxygen.


----------



## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I welded galvy, soldered, glued pvc, used paint thiner and brake clean, and I think flap disk'ed some lead paint today. Yay!


----------



## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

chewy said:


> Asbestos is the thing I worry about and GC attitudes of "Its fine so long as you don't disturb it". It only takes 1 fibre inhaled or in a hair follicle to cause asbestosis.


I think that might be overdoing it.


----------



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

uconduit said:


> I think that might be overdoing it.


Overdoing what?


----------



## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

there are countless asbestos fibers that occur naturally within the environment. The more you inhale the higher the risk of disease but just 1 single fiber has only an infinitesimal chance of causing disease. Some places have billions and billions of asbestos fibers and that's what you have to worry about. Zonolite brand vermiculite granule-looking attic insulation (an alternative to fiberglass) is another one that you really have to watch out for and it's in many residences.

but minimal concentrations of asbestos are probably harmless. crayons sold in America are up to .03% asbestos by weight. We're not all getting asbestosis here. Managing asbestos exposure makes a lot of sense, but worrying about a single fiber is just simply not realistic.


----------



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

uconduit said:


> there are countless asbestos fibers that occur naturally within the environment. The more you inhale the higher the risk of disease but just 1 single fiber has only an infinitesimal chance of causing disease. Some places have billions and billions of asbestos fibers and that's what you have to worry about. Zonolite brand vermiculite granule-looking attic insulation (an alternative to fiberglass) is another one that you really have to watch out for and it's in many residences.
> 
> but minimal concentrations of asbestos are probably harmless. crayons sold in America are up to .03% asbestos by weight. We're not all getting asbestosis here. Managing asbestos exposure makes a lot of sense, but worrying about a single fiber is just simply not realistic.


Thats contrary to all inductions/safety meetings I have had in the last 5 years. The stuff we commonly encounter is in wall coverings and textured ceilings.


----------



## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

I'm not saying you should ignore your safety training. I'm just saying that avoiding every single molecule of asbestos fiber is impossible. According to Holland and Smith, every 10 liters of air in the US contains 1 fiber*. Some parts of the world contain more some less. Asbestos is 100% natural. It is naturally occuring rock that is in the form of flexible fibers like fur. Asbestos workers have been dying prematurely since ancient Rome.










That said, you will come across it in your career. It is very common in industrial environments -- especially older large industrial complexes like factories and refineries. It's almost certainly in its most deadly form as a contaminate in Zonolite-brand vermiculite found in attics. 

There is a risk of dying an agonizing death from asbestos due to working. There is a risk of starving to death because you have no food.
If done properly, the risk of asbestos-related disease is relatively low and is what is called "an acceptable risk", fear of asbestos and refusing to go to work or defying the employer might not be an acceptable risk. Working at a convenience store in the US is probably a lot riskier.

It's good to know that people care enough to limit their exposure. The last asbestos abatement people I worked around, I swear they seemed so spaced out I wondered if they cut their meth with asbestos...



http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=4&po=5


----------



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

uconduit said:


> I'm not saying you should ignore your safety training. I'm just saying that avoiding every single molecule of asbestos fiber is impossible. According to Holland and Smith, every 10 liters of air in the US contains 1 fiber*. Some parts of the world contain more some less. Asbestos is 100% natural. It is naturally occuring rock that is in the form of flexible fibers like fur. Asbestos workers have been dying prematurely since ancient Rome.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have come across it and already been exposed to it, the national construction company has since gone bankrupt and closed down so no recourse for me in years to come. Its fairly common here, we have asbestos identification classes, sites shut down until it is removed or contained. Its odd that its taken so seriously here and not there but then we don't take electrical safety as seriously as you guys do, like you guys think its suicidal to work off an aluminum ladder.


----------



## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Big John said:


> I work with a guy who releases more fumes than anyone I've ever met. Vegetarian. High fiber diet. It's awful.
> 
> The other day were driving and he dropped a silent bomb. The smell hit me just after I belched. Scared me; I thought I caused it._ "That's never happened before. I think we need to get me to an ER."_


Too bad that was not just before the cop pulled you over, he might have said the hell with this when you rolled the window down. :laughing:


----------



## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


yes, I like fumes (particularly if they somehow remind me of boobies) and I also like stuff.


----------



## denny3992 (Jul 12, 2010)

RHWilks said:


> PVC glue more than likely isn't good to breath. or if your bending pvc with torch, and you burn it. Working in all kinds of weather conditions, sometimes your working on a sewer life station or a water treatment plant. I am not sure how unhealthy that is.
> The painters don't shoot lacquer anymore..Need a shot of whiskey to clear that out.
> If you are worried about it, the look in your "Right to know books" AKA Material data safety sheets, and make sure you have the correct PPE.


I resemble that remark about the waste water plant... It depends what ur workin on... Wet wells are horrid.... H2s,methane, and any thing else ppl flush down the sewer.... Solids handling is another area of concern...

Then theres the caustic chemicals and alot of o2 deficient areas!


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

I love the smell of chickensh*t in the morning.....:thumbsup:~CS~


----------



## piperunner (Aug 22, 2009)

Well come to our job at 9:30 when the pump truck comes for the porta pots its during break time .:thumbsup:


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Yeah, I agree with _uconduit._ Obviously you work to limit your exposure to asbestos, and of course you don't make dust, but the "1 fiber" thing is a scare tactic.

Not only are there different types of asbestos with different levels of hazard, but you breathe asbestos all the time without knowing it. It occurs in dust kicked up from the earth. Even our OSHA maximum exposure limits say a worker can legally be exposed to hundreds-of-thousands of fibers in an 8 hour shift.

Remember what brought asbestos safety to the public's attention was shipyard workers who were working in literal clouds of the stuff, every day, for many years, and began getting sick as a result.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

BBQ said:


> Too bad that was not just before the cop pulled you over, he might have said the hell with this when you rolled the window down. :laughing:


 My luck he woulda considered it assault on a police officer and just started night-sticking me.


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

BBQ said:


> Too bad that was not just before the cop pulled you over, he might have said the hell with this when you rolled the window down. :laughing:


That has worked for me in the past....especially when I used " I have the runs, I'm on my way to a bathroom" excuse.


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

piperunner said:


> Well come to our job at 9:30 when the pump truck comes for the porta pots its during break time .:thumbsup:


 We had a 20 something yr old chic come to the site this week to pump the porty. She was awesome. Doing that job to pay for college. I offered her a job on the spot.


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

piperunner said:


> Well come to our job at 9:30 when the pump truck comes for the porta pots its during break time .:thumbsup:


Too late, i already did the crawl space thing & rolled in rat sh*t :jester:

_but hey_, my dog still loves me! :whistling2::thumbup:

~CS~


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Shockdoc said:


> We had a 20 something yr old chic come to the site this week to pump the porty. She was awesome. Doing that job to pay for college. I offered her a job on the spot.



because........she's qualified to take your sh*t Doc? :jester::laughing::thumbup:

~CS~


----------



## undeadwiring (Feb 9, 2010)

chewy said:


> Concrete dust.
> Gypsum Dust.
> Tannalised Timber Dust.
> Hot slag falling on you from iron workers overhead.
> ...


Blech I hate concrete dust ! the worst is when your using a nailgun and the concrete was so poorly made it just explodes all over you. The other stuff haven't worried about too much although I nearly suffocate after going into a port a pottie that has been cleaned for a few days and it's been in the hot sun . The extreme heat was when it was near 100 all week long with high humidity and the chipper didn't work so we had to use a hammer and chisel that was not fun but I just bought a gallon of water and froze it and it helped enough. 



jrannis said:


> Our work gets very physical without getting to an aerobic level.
> So, we get exhausted without a decent work out.


 Try carrying 1,000 feet of 3inch emt first in the site than up into the hoist than unloading it all. or a giant hand bender up and down the steps.



piperunner said:


> Well come to our job at 9:30 when the pump truck comes for the porta pots its during break time .:thumbsup:


 Thankfully I'm upstairs working when the pump truck has been there and I can still smell it.


----------



## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Anyone have good photos of this Zonolite stuff? Think I have come across vermiculite before just like a confirmation.

Yup:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...3VYYqg0ZqLwgM:;IVHxerMU6lyIYM;Z3VYYqg0ZqLwgM:


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

I snort that stuff for breakfast.....:whistling2:~CS~


----------



## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Stays crunchy in milk.


----------



## denny3992 (Jul 12, 2010)

chicken steve said:


> I love the smell of chickensh*t in the morning.....:thumbsup:~CS~


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPXVGQnJm0w&sns=em


----------



## Chris1971 (Dec 27, 2010)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


No, not to bad. But spending to much time on an electrical forum can be unhealthy.:laughing:


----------



## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)




----------



## Fredman (Dec 2, 2008)

nrp3 said:


> Anyone have good photos of this Zonolite stuff? Think I have come across vermiculite before just like a confirmation.
> 
> Yup:
> http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...3VYYqg0ZqLwgM:;IVHxerMU6lyIYM;Z3VYYqg0ZqLwgM:


Thats the stuff. Had boat loads in the attic where I grew up. Crack them open and they have strange dark glassy looking shards inside. 

I'm probably so screwed...


----------



## Fredman (Dec 2, 2008)

*is electrician an unhealthy job

*


spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


Yes.


----------



## troubleshooting (Mar 16, 2012)

Don't forget bat and pidgeon droppings in attics. Very nasty.

Also aluminum dust, highly conductive and explosive if you get it wet. Not a good place to stop for coffee if its laying around.


----------



## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

spidey said:


> like fumes and stuff


I just happened to be glueing a ductbank of 8 x 4" today, the pvc glue was POTENT!!! Don't light a match....


----------



## Fredman (Dec 2, 2008)

Also PVC glue is boatloads of fun if you open a can next to a bee hive. :yes:


----------



## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

there are inherent dangers in any job but its our responsibilities to follow safety regs.
if your work place provides you with ppe then follow the rules and use it.

there are situations where the ppe can cause more harm than what it supposed to protect you from such as cut resistant gloves being worn while working on moving machinery.

there are many adjustments are not possible when a machine is down and require the equipment to be running.
that why special procedures are developed to provide as much protection as possible.

the only work injury ive ever received is a damaged knee from a motor impact.
(motor being hoisted into tower swung loose when guide line broke)


----------

