• Question: did you ever injure yourself while working?

    Asked by KinKin to Alison, Hannah, Rory, Sita, Stephen on 11 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Stephen O'Connor

      Stephen O'Connor answered on 11 Mar 2019: last edited 13 Mar 2019 12:17 pm


      No thankfully not!
      Working in a lab with many different types of chemicals, heavy machines with moving parts, and UV radiation, means that I have to be careful and follow protocol.
      For almost everything in our lab there is a description of what it is, a procedure of how it works, and how to use it safely.
      All important information including what to do in case of emergency is clearly documented.
      I received lab safety and fire safety training when I first arrived, and I have a training course in electrical safety in a few weeks.
      Over the years I have gained experience which helps to prevent me getting into tricky situations, and to coordinate better with my colleagues to ensure things run smoothly.

    • Photo: Hannah Currivan

      Hannah Currivan answered on 12 Mar 2019:


      I have burned myself with a soldering iron, but it was only small 🙂 🙂 🙂 I also did not wear gloves once when building I-LOFAR (Irish Low Frequency Array Radio Telescope), what happen was when I
      was covering the High Band Antenna (HBA) with a black cover, we had to hammer in these fiber glass pegs into the ground to secure the cover, and when I stared to hammer in the pegs the fiber glass went into my figures. 🙂 🙂 🙂 It was a silly mistake, my figures were sore but it only last for a few days. 🙂 🙂 🙂

    • Photo: Alison Dufresne

      Alison Dufresne answered on 13 Mar 2019:


      Yup! I’ve had all sorts of burns and such. I’ve been burned by nitric acid, sulfuric acid, high text hydrogen peroxide.. Somehow all of this happened whilst I was wrapped up in a protective suit, double gloves, gas mask and face shield! I’ve also managed to pinch my fingers whilst tightening bolts and hit myself with the wrench a couple times. I am rather clumsy.. Still, no serious injuries as of yet!

    • Photo: Sita Karki

      Sita Karki answered on 14 Mar 2019:


      No, and not looking forward for that.

    • Photo: Rory Scarrott

      Rory Scarrott answered on 15 Mar 2019:


      Yup, purely down to my own stupidity.

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