I work for an environmental protection company that cleans up hazardous materials ranging from radioactive objects, to acids, to weapons confiscated by police from criminals, to toxic gasses...the list goes on. I work at one of the more dangerous places, which is a land fill where a lot of this stuff goes to be "stabilized" so it doesn't react dangerously to other products we've put in the land fill.
The other day I was moving some hoses around, helping a track hoe operator so he could unload a truck that was pulling in. Well, This genius of a truck driver thought the hoses I was moving were all empty, which most of them were...except for the one he ran over with his trailer. This was already a bad hose, and we were planning to get rid of it after we unloaded this truck. Well...I happened to be in the wrong area at the wrong time. The second that 24-ton vehicle rolled over the hose, its contents exploded everywhere - drenching me in acid.
By federal law and company policy we have to wear protective clothing to protect our bodies from what we work with. The suits cover every inch of our body...except for our faces.
I immediately felt the acid eating at my skin, and ran to the nearest shower, ripping my clothes off as I ran. Luckily I was able to wash the acid off before it did too much damage, but I was taken to the nearest hospital just to be safe.
If you've never had acid splashed on you...it's not an experience I would recommend going through.
Thinking about looking for a new job. This job pays well, but it's dangerous as hell.