<story><title>I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil</title><url>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/that-time-i-tried-to-buy-some-crude-oil</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>comex</author><text>Another notable excerpt from the linked state safety agency document (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.michigan.gov&amp;#x2F;documents&amp;#x2F;cis_wsh_cet5041_90142_7.doc&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.michigan.gov&amp;#x2F;documents&amp;#x2F;cis_wsh_cet5041_90142_7.do...&lt;/a&gt;):&lt;p&gt;--&lt;p&gt;Two employees of a fertilizer company in Riga, Michigan, were assigned to install a new float valve in an old 35-foot deep cistern for a new 300-foot well.  This cistern was covered with a concrete slab with entry through a covered manhole.  The first worker entered the cistern and as he reached a plank platform six feet below the opening, he was instantly overcome and fell unconscious into the water below.  The man on the surface immediately ran to the nearby plant for help.  Several workmen responded and two of them entered the cistern to render aid.  They met the fate of the first worker.  A passerby who had been drawn to the scene by the crowd which had gathered was told by an excited bystander that several men in the cistern were drowning.  Upon hearing this, he shouted, &amp;quot;I can swim, I can swim&amp;quot; and pulled away from a company employee who was trying to restrain him.  Now there were four bodies in the well.&lt;p&gt;Shortly afterward the fire department arrived at the scene with proper rescue equipment.  The fire chief entered the cistern wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus.  After reaching the plank platform, he removed his face mask to shout instructions to those on the surface and he, too, was instantly overcome.  All five persons died in the cistern.&lt;p&gt;Tests of the cistern atmosphere revealed that H2S in a concentration of about 1000 parts per million was present when the five deaths occurred.  The water pumped up from the deep well contained dissolved hydrogen sulfide which was released in the unventilated cistern.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>BuildTheRobots</author><text>The friends I play Urb-X with are hyper aware that it&amp;#x27;s the heavier-than-air gasses that pool and that kill you. I find it amazing and depressing they didn&amp;#x27;t have any sort of safety gear or air monitoring. In the UK, I&amp;#x27;m sure this would have breached both working at height and enclosed spaces working regulations.&lt;p&gt;Even if we&amp;#x27;re exploring something as pathetic as an old ROC bunker only _one_ of us (usually me) goes down first and is attached to the end of a rope. If I stop talking then the person topside can do what they like to try and get me out, but under no circumstances do they come down behind me. We&amp;#x27;ve also usually got a third person sat in the van (so just off site) communicating with us via radio and with GPS coordinates and road directions written down ready to give to the emergency services should it all go entirely to hell...&lt;p&gt;Sorry for the ramble; It&amp;#x27;s a horrible tragedy, but as what I&amp;#x27;ve stated above is the level I expect for an unplanned slightly drunken Sunday-afternoon explore, I _really_ expect people in a commercial setting to know better. Probably more to the point, whoever ordered them to go in there deserves to be strung over the coals....&lt;p&gt;tldr: it&amp;#x27;s _really_ easy to go from 1 person slightly injured to multiple people dead :(</text></comment>
<story><title>I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil</title><url>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/that-time-i-tried-to-buy-some-crude-oil</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>comex</author><text>Another notable excerpt from the linked state safety agency document (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.michigan.gov&amp;#x2F;documents&amp;#x2F;cis_wsh_cet5041_90142_7.doc&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.michigan.gov&amp;#x2F;documents&amp;#x2F;cis_wsh_cet5041_90142_7.do...&lt;/a&gt;):&lt;p&gt;--&lt;p&gt;Two employees of a fertilizer company in Riga, Michigan, were assigned to install a new float valve in an old 35-foot deep cistern for a new 300-foot well.  This cistern was covered with a concrete slab with entry through a covered manhole.  The first worker entered the cistern and as he reached a plank platform six feet below the opening, he was instantly overcome and fell unconscious into the water below.  The man on the surface immediately ran to the nearby plant for help.  Several workmen responded and two of them entered the cistern to render aid.  They met the fate of the first worker.  A passerby who had been drawn to the scene by the crowd which had gathered was told by an excited bystander that several men in the cistern were drowning.  Upon hearing this, he shouted, &amp;quot;I can swim, I can swim&amp;quot; and pulled away from a company employee who was trying to restrain him.  Now there were four bodies in the well.&lt;p&gt;Shortly afterward the fire department arrived at the scene with proper rescue equipment.  The fire chief entered the cistern wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus.  After reaching the plank platform, he removed his face mask to shout instructions to those on the surface and he, too, was instantly overcome.  All five persons died in the cistern.&lt;p&gt;Tests of the cistern atmosphere revealed that H2S in a concentration of about 1000 parts per million was present when the five deaths occurred.  The water pumped up from the deep well contained dissolved hydrogen sulfide which was released in the unventilated cistern.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ptaipale</author><text>Shit kills. I guess this happens everywhere in the world, but over here (Finland), there are the occasional deaths at farms where H2S released from remains of cow manure, stored in a tank, kills people.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.mela.fi&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;lietelanta.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.mela.fi&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;lietelanta.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;Description of event&lt;p&gt;A farm-owner suffocated inside a manure tank which was lacking oxygen and contained toxic gases. Also his brother, who went in to help, died.&lt;p&gt;A tank of liquid-form manure was almost empty. A pipe at the bottom of the tank was blocked. The farm owner decided to enter the tank and finalize emptying the tank. However, he lost consciousness and fell to the bottom.&lt;p&gt;His brother, who was close by, saw what happened and went in to save the unconscious man, but he was also overcome in a moment. Four hours later a family member discovered the victims.  Fire service was called to help, and with pressure air breathing equipment, they retrieved both men.  They were both found to be dead. Cause of death was a poisoning by methane and hydrogen sulfide.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;(Taken from farm advisory leaflet on manure &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.mela.fi&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;lietelanta.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.mela.fi&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;lietelanta.pdf&lt;/a&gt; )</text></comment>