Nuclear Waste on deck.

I'm not wishing to stray further from the thread subject, but mention of the old asbestos type fire-helmet reminded me that as a young J.O.S., whilst engaged in fire-drill at sea, I was often elected to don the smoke-helmet, gloves, with air-hose and communication line attached etc., (one tug, two tugs, the significance of each signal I no longer recall). For the purpose of the exercise I was required to confront an imaginary fire which entailed a great deal of movement. I recall that the helmet and attached 'shroud' was made from a rather stiff asbestos material and can only imagine that any movement by the wearer may well have induced the release of asbestos particles. Should this occur inside the helmet there was only one place it was going to go and that was directly into ones lungs. Nice thought. Have since wondered if this may have contributed to my emphysema, but rather think it was the 30-40 per.day habit I once had.

I, too, remember the dust that fell upon us when preparing to paint the asbestos lagging around internal pipes. As with the proximity of nuclear waste, there were any number of health hazards we as seamen were exposed to, most of which we were totally oblivious to at the time. Cynically, perhaps, but I've often wondered if our employers were equally ignorant of the health risks we faced, what do you think?.

........................................regards, Roger.

I would say Roger that in those days the danger of asbestos had not been realizes. So much of it had been used in so many places at sea and ashore. Like many products of the time the dangers where not known for many years. Coal dust was another that was not accepted by the miners employees as a danger until the mines were almost ready for closing. Drugs, Thalidomide comes to mind, food coloring now is considered a health hazard for some children as is the peanut allergy. In every generation there has been something to cause problems down the line while not being recognized at the time as being of a hazardous nature.

Hi Captain Kong,hi shipmates, on your posting , We were not told what was in the drums or boxes', but as been said many cargoes were toxic that we shipped from the U.K. one of my shipmates was blind for a few days after a small leak in a 45 gallon drum working cargo on a ship{ cant' remember the name of it ? government forms still make me forget and go deaf }but that drum was from alldermaston stencil red paint} could be anything very toxic not just nuclear waste:eek::eek::eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger DYER

I'm not wishing to stray further from the thread subject, but mention of the old asbestos type fire-helmet reminded me that as a young J.O.S., whilst engaged in fire-drill at sea, I was often elected to don the smoke-helmet, gloves, with air-hose and communication line attached etc., (one tug, two tugs, the significance of each signal I no longer recall). For the purpose of the exercise I was required to confront an imaginary fire which entailed a great deal of movement. I recall that the helmet and attached 'shroud' was made from a rather stiff asbestos material and can only imagine that any movement by the wearer may well have induced the release of asbestos particles. Should this occur inside the helmet there was only one place it was going to go and that was directly into ones lungs. Nice thought. Have since wondered if this may have contributed to my emphysema, but rather think it was the 30-40 per.day habit I once had.


........................................regards, Roger.

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Had to use one of those helmets and braces fighting a fire on a Greek ship we had on charter, all but two of the crew had taken to the boats, A British tug captain had the self contained apparatus I had the asbestos fire helmet, and I had to rely on two Greek sailors to pump the bellows and they did it throughout the episode, for which I thank them. The ship had a fire in the for'd paint locker. the helmet worked well but it was bl....dy hot without any kind of suit, we had to keep drenching ourselves with the hose, never even thought about the asbestos aspect, didn't get any thanks from the Greek shipowner.

The helmet worked fine as long as you had reliable people on the foot bellows

Ivan

I did a dry dock on an Esso Tanker, built 1964, the bulkhead insulation in the cabins were all asbestos.
I wonder how much dust came out as the ship was vibrating when underway.

Another awful cargo was Carbon Black, sweeping up after the discharge was full of choking black dust,
It got into your lungs, coughing up black crap out of the lungs and it was right up the nose and sinuses. It got absorbed into the skin. Have a good shower, put on a nice white shirt, go to Del Monacos or any other dance and when you get warm and a bit sweaty your skin turns black and all over the white shirt. It comes out of the pores again. The girls were not a bit happy with that
How life shortening is that stuff.
No protection whatsoever.

We ( L+ H) used to carry carbon black from Liverpool to the Argentine and Brazil. Awful stuff carried in cardboard cartons on pallets. They were nearly always damaged on loading and discharging and yes, I have suffered a similar fate to Capt K, after brushing the dam stuff up.

Another true story by the good Capt.

Chris

Hello Brian and Chris,

Am I right in assuming that the carbon black you both refer to was also the very same 'lamp black' as I knew it. It certainly sounds like it.

It was Saturday morning on a very warm summer's day in 1959. G.S.N.C.'s 'Ringdove' was lying, empty, at her berth in London Dock, having completed discharge of the cargo she had brought back from the 'Med'. A small part of that cargo had been 'lamp black' and we'd been tasked with the job of sweeping-up the mess left behind. Told by the Mate it was a 'job and finish' we looked forward to having the rest of the week-end to ourselves. Eager to finish, we commenced sweeping with great enthusiasm, but were very soon made to realise the truth in the saying 'more haste, less speed'. Simply put, it was an awful bl--dy job. Each forward thrust of the broom produced a choking black cloud which never seemed to settle. To try and protect our lungs, we removed our shirts to tie as masks round our faces, but that was only partially successful. It was uncomfortably warm in the hold and the perspiration streaking our bodies added to our discomfort. Oh! how I longed for that morning to end. By mid-morning the job was done and we were able to shower all the filth away, or so we thought!. After changing into our good 'gear' we headed off for a pint or two in the 'Old Rose' before going our separate ways for the week-end.

My journey home from Liverpool Street to Rayleigh, in Essex, would take about an hour. It felt hot in the carriage and before long I was starting to leak black ink, at least that's what it seemed like. The cuffs of my shirt must have given. the impression I'd been wearing it for weeks. I was conscious of one or two curious glances I was getting from my fellow-passengers. I resisted any temptation to stand and look at myself in the mirror above me and could only imagine what I must look like. The jacket I wore may have covered some of the mess my shirt was in, yet could do little to ease the embarrassment I felt and continued to feel until I was finally able to exit the train at Rayleigh.

On arrival home, my mother gave me her usual warm welcome although tinged with a look of disapproval at my appearance. Looking at myself in the hall mirror I really couldn't blame her. My face was smudged and 'Just William' came to mind. Hurriedly, I tried to explain the reasons why, but was still not sure that I'd convinced her. No doubt she was getting the impression that my standards of personal hygiene had lapsed alarmingly since my joining the M.N. two years earlier.

It had been my very first encounter with 'lamp black' and, joy of joys, it was to be my last....absolutely awful bl--dy stuff.


...................................regards, Roger.

There was a Carbon Black factory here in Melbourne. Some years ago while operating the university catering I employed a guy as storeman, he had worked at the Carbon Black factory for over twenty years. He left on the advice of his doctor, it was, as he put it, killing him slowly. He always had a dark tinge to his skin and we all thought for some time that maybe there was a touch of the tar in him. No this was the result of all those years exposure to the stuff.

Carbon blackFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For the climate forcing agent, see Black carbon.

Worker at a Texas carbon black plant (photo by John Vachon, 1942)Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, ethylene cracking tar, and a small amount from vegetable oil. Carbon black is a form of amorphous carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, although its surface-area-to-volume ratio is low compared to that of activated carbon. It is dissimilar to soot in its much higher surface-area-to-volume ratio and significantly lower (negligible and non-bioavailable) PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) content. Carbon black is used as a pigment and reinforcement in rubber and plastic products.

The current International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation is that, "Carbon black is possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)". Short-term exposure to high concentrations of carbon black dust may produce discomfort to the upper respiratory tract, through mechanical irritation.

Doesnt sound too good with the carcinogen effects and we had to breathe all this in without any protection. The shipowners are a Disgrace.

PigmentCarbon black (Colour Index International, PBK-7) is the name of a common black pigment, traditionally produced from charring organic materials such as wood or bone. It appears black because it reflects almost no[specify] light in the visible part of the spectrum. It is known by a variety of names, each of which reflects a traditional method for producing carbon black:

Ivory black was traditionally produced by charring ivory or bones (see bone char).
Vine black was traditionally produced by charring desiccated grape vines and stems.
Lamp black was traditionally produced by collecting soot, also known as lampblack, from oil lamps.
Newer methods of producing carbon black have superseded these traditional sources, although some materials are still produced using traditional methods. For artisanal purposes, it is very useful.
[edit] Surface chemistryAll carbon blacks have chemisorbed oxygen complexes (i.e., carboxylic, quinonic, lactonic, phenolic groups and others) on their surfaces to varying degrees depending on the conditions of manufacture. These surface oxygen groups are collectively referred to as volatile content. It is also known to be a non-conductive material due to its volatile content.

The coatings and inks industries prefer grades of carbon black that are acid oxidized. Acid is sprayed in high temperature dryers during the manufacturing process to change the inherent surface chemistry of the black. The amount of chemically-bonded oxygen on the surface area of the black is increased to enhance performance characteristics.

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