The Heap

Cold Cocked

548372526_99675067fa.jpgYou may think that that moldering, half-eaten burrito you’ve been carefully neglecting in the break room fridge is no big deal. But you’re wrong. Dead wrong.

An office worker in the AT&T building in San Jose, Calif. tried to be a hero and clean the break room fridge. The unplugged refrigerator was packed with rotten lunches. That stench, combined with fumes from the chemicals she was using to scrub the fouled appliance elicited a call to 911. Firefighters evacuated the building and a hazmat team was summoned. Seven co-workers wound up in the hospital and 28 people had to be treated for vomiting and nausea. Conveniently, the good Samaritan was fine, as her sense of smell had been incapacitated due to allergies.

For God’s sake, send those people some baking soda!

Source: Associated Press

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The Heap is a blog featuring waste industry news and analysis written by the staff of Waste Age magazine and guest commentators.

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Steven Averett joined the Waste Age staff in February 2006. Since then he has helped the magazine expand its coverage and garner a range of awards from FOLIO, the American Society of Business...

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