On Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:00:55 -0800 (PST), ignator
wrote:

On Jan 30, 12:38*am, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:14:22 -0500, "Existential Angst"









wrote:
"David Lesher" wrote in message
...
In another place I hang out, we're discussing a tower that was
toppled by a tornado 25 years ago. Seeing as how this was a
327 ft tower, weighing ~135 tons, that's a lot of bent steel.

But the story is, it was not sellable as scrap because it was
galvanized. *They ended up burying it on-site!

You guys know lots more about steel than I do, so why is it you
can't reuse galvanized steel?

It may have been related to the fact that welding/flame cutting galvanized
steel apparently releases very toxic gaseous compounds of zinc, so scrappers
may have been reluctant to cut it up -- altho one doesn't normally think of
scrappers as being a health-conscious environmental lot.... * LOL

Anyone who has ever experienced zinc-fume fever, even a mild case of
it (raises hand) doesn't need health-consciousness to know it's bad
news. It's like a short-lived case of flu. In severe cases, it can be
really nasty. I got a mild dose from welding or brazing (I forget
which) EMT, and I don't want to experience it again.

Today, there are throw-away masks that can protect you from it. 3M
makes one, or did. I bought a few around 10 years ago. Ordinary dust
masks and solvent-fume filters won't do it.

--
Ed Huntress (yes, I'm coming to Yonkers soon)







. *May have turned into a kind of scrap urban lore, in some locales. *Just
guessing....

Ed the OSHA web site calls it metal fume fever.
http://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtrai.../weldhlth.html
And their description follows;
Zinc is used in large quantities in the manufacture of brass,
galvanized metals, and various other alloys. Inhalation of zinc oxide
fumes can occur when welding or cutting on zinc-coated metals.
Exposure to these fumes is known to cause metal fume fever. Symptoms
of metal fume fever are very similar to those of common influenza.
They include fever (rarely exceeding 102o F), chills, nausea, dryness
of the throat, cough, fatigue, and general weakness and aching of the
head and body. The victim may sweat profusely for a few hours, after
which the body temperature begins to return to normal. The symptoms of
metal fume fever have rarely, if ever, lasted beyond 24 hours. The
subject can then appear to be more susceptible to the onset of this
condition on Mondays or on weekdays following a holiday than they are
on other days.

I find it interesting they made comment to it's effects relative to
Mondays or holidays. Someone in OSHA has a sense of humor.
ignator

Ha-ha! Yes, that's funny.

The description sounds familiar. Fortunately for me, I didn't get a
bad dose of it. I didn't have a fever, but it felt like the flu
otherwise.

--
Ed Huntress