HazMat

Yesterday I started work at eight o'clock. It was just supposed to be a normal day but when I arrived, my manager told me that I was going to head office for a hazmat class at one o'clock. Thanks for the warning! That was fine with me though, at least I had the car with me.

The class was all about dealing with dangerous spills and how and when to clean them up and when to run away. We do deal with a lot of hazardous materials in the grocery store, especially down my aisle (cleaning supplies), so it was good to find out what to do in case of a spill.

We watched a lot of movies and learned about truck and product markings for dangerous goods. We also recieved a book on how to find out what each of those markings mean and how to respond to them in case of a spill.

At the end of the class, we all went outside for a spill and clean up demonstration. It was just starting to sprinkle a bit at that time. By the time we were half way through the demonstration, we were in a full downpour which didn't let up until I was in my car on the way home. Needless to say, we were all soaked and of course I didn't have my jacket because it was warm when the class started.

One volunteer had to punch a hole into a bucket with a hammer and spike as the instructor demonstrated pads they used to soak up different liquids. I was the second volunteer who had to plug up the hole with a puddy type compound called Plug & Dike, which got a few comments from the class.

The rain was coming down so hard that water started dripping into my eyes. I wear gel in my hair and so the water rolling into my eyes had gel in it. Let me tell you, that wasn't pleasant! To make matters worse, I was wearing rubber gloves for my part in the demonstration, so I didn't want to wipe them with my hands. I ended up just taking off my glasses and wiping my eyes with my shirt sleeves.

By the time it was over and I got to my car, my shirt was completely soaked which was another pleasant experience I could have done without. My wet shirt stuck to my back during the twenty-five minute drive home. I was glad to get out of those wet clothes!