FTO AUSTRALIA

I am currently off work for a couple of days with Diesel Poisoning.
We had a tanker fill our depots' petrol station with watered down diesel on Thursday night. Friday morning trucks/tractors refuelled their tanks. We didn't know the diesel was bad until 11AM friday morning when the first of many trucks returned to the depot with engine problems.
I had to drain and clean 12 trucks/tractors tanks and fuel systems on Friday/Monday. There is about 200 Litres of diesel per truck. After 12 hours of being in the pit under the trucks, covered from head to toe in diesel, I started to feel a bit woozy, light headed and sick in the stomach. Even my urine has turned bright bright yellow.
Doctor said that I should have worn a full condom suit, goggles and carbon breathing mask, I just had on my work clothes and a pair of safety glasses.
Doctor said it will pass in a couple of days and it would be too hard to prove the symptoms as diesel poisoning, as it would require many blood tests. So I have just taken some sick leave.
Hopefully I will be back at work tomorrow, but still a bit light headed at the moment.

Bludger.

Sue the c**nts for all theyve got!

Thats no good mate, hope youre alright

Note to self- keep Phil away from my car...

Nah mate, hope you get well soon

Dam mate that sucks get better soon

Erm, would you like my missus to pay your work place a visit? She is a Work Cover inspector!

Your employer will supply all the protective gear you need if she does, believe me!

Bennoz wrote:Erm, would you like my missus to pay your work place a visit? She is a Work Cover inspector!

Your employer will supply all the protective gear you need if she does, believe me!

Thanks Bennoz, but...
Nah, it is my own fault for not asking for the protective gear. A worker has a duty of care to look after themselves these days.
Although the overseeing mechanic at the time could have made a suggestion or directed me to get the gear out of stores and wear it.
I will know better next time.

and....
Thanks for all the jokes and well wishes everyone.
I feel like I'm drunk without drinking

PHIL069 wrote:I feel like I'm drunk without drinking

Keep sipping on your 1L bottle of jim for added effect

Daniel2019 wrote:

PHIL069 wrote:I feel like I'm drunk without drinking

Keep sipping on your 1L bottle of jim for added effect

Maybe it will water down the soaked in diesel

I'm keeping the 2.5L of Jim for mini bonfire, Christmas and major bonfire. It should last at least 3 years of this rotation.

That sucks, hope you feel better soon.

PHIL069 wrote:Although the overseeing mechanic at the time could have made a suggestion or directed me to get the gear out of stores and wear it.

Annoyingly I do agree with this.
But I'm kind of the same and will take blame on myself for not thinking things through over blaming someone else.
It's a bit like welding without a mask... Yeah you can do it.... but...

oh, FYI, if people want to start a debate.

Purple Monkey Dishwasher... I don't give a F...

It's alright mate, many of the country's ancestors and natives have been utilizing this amazing substance for around a century now! Enjoy it while it lasts

On a more serious note, it should be a manager's responsibility to follow up on every staff member and their use of protective equipment, it's their duty of care! If you're ill as a result of the lack of protective equipment (applying it was available in the first place), it is not only your fault but the manager's as well...

ObsidianRadio wrote:It's alright mate, many of the country's ancestors and natives have been utilizing this amazing substance for around a century now! Enjoy it while it lasts

Tis a bit of a tricky situation.

If the equipement was available, and you knew it was available, then I think you would be hard pressed to make too big a deal of it if you wanted to keep your place of work a happy place to be. That said the manager / supervisor should have noticed that you weren't wearing it considering the amount of time you would have been doing this job and pulled you up on it.

If the equipement wasn't available, and the attitude of the management negative or aggressive against this sort of safety equipement, then you should probably take it further.

And next time use a little common sense

Seeming though I work at council and work for a local group training company, if I started complaining, it would be taken very seriously. It would probably start an enquiry.
When workers have problems here they are not really looked down on. Of course things would be said behind your back, but that would happen everywhere.
None of the licenced mechanics wear said PPE gear when working with diesel, so it would not even have been thought of to offer me the gear. Quote mechanics "I have been working with diesel all my life and it has never affected me!" "Which doctor are you going to, because I wanna go there and get a certificate for diesel poisoning?"
I dropped in this morning to fill out my time sheet, mentioned to my supervisor that I should have worn PPE, my supervisor said "The mechanic you were working with is still draining trucks and he is not affected"
I'm not intending on pushing the situation. As far as I can see if I'm just going to be OK after a few days, I will just let it go.
If I claim on workers comp. it will just make it harder for me to find a job after I finish my apprenticeship.

PHIL069 wrote:Seeming though I work at council and work for a local group training company, if I started complaining, it would be taken very seriously. It would probably start an enquiry.
When workers have problems here they are not really looked down on. Of course things would be said behind your back, but that would happen everywhere.
None of the licenced mechanics wear said PPE gear when working with diesel, so it would not even have been thought of to offer me the gear. Quote mechanics "I have been working with diesel all my life and it has never affected me!" "Which doctor are you going to, because I wanna go there and get a certificate for diesel poisoning?"
I dropped in this morning to fill out my time sheet, mentioned to my supervisor that I should have worn PPE, my supervisor said "The mechanic you were working with is still draining trucks and he is not affected"
I'm not intending on pushing the situation. As far as I can see if I'm just going to be OK after a few days, I will just let it go.
If I claim on workers comp. it will just make it harder for me to find a job after I finish my apprenticeship.

Kinda sucky situation but I guess as you said, its better just to get healthy and move on. Best to look at the bigger picture, as youre doing

Unlucky.. hope youre feeling better bestie

PHIL069 wrote:Seeming though I work at council and work for a local group training company, if I started complaining, it would be taken very seriously. It would probably start an enquiry.
When workers have problems here they are not really looked down on. Of course things would be said behind your back, but that would happen everywhere.
None of the licenced mechanics wear said PPE gear when working with diesel, so it would not even have been thought of to offer me the gear. Quote mechanics "I have been working with diesel all my life and it has never affected me!" "Which doctor are you going to, because I wanna go there and get a certificate for diesel poisoning?"
I dropped in this morning to fill out my time sheet, mentioned to my supervisor that I should have worn PPE, my supervisor said "The mechanic you were working with is still draining trucks and he is not affected"
I'm not intending on pushing the situation. As far as I can see if I'm just going to be OK after a few days, I will just let it go.
If I claim on workers comp. it will just make it harder for me to find a job after I finish my apprenticeship.

Thing is too, if you had worn the 'condom suit', you'd never live it down

Shane001 wrote:Thing is too, if you had worn the 'condom suit', you'd never live it down

+1 agree

But next time I will ask for and wear the carbon filter mask and goggles at least.
Although the spray painters wear the condom suit.

I wore a spray painters condom suit all day during my bucks

Got doctors cert. for the rest of the week, will be back at work Monday. I called my supervisor to let him know and was told......
Quote "We will keep you away from diesel from now on"
Reply "But I will just wear a mask next time"
Quote "No, you are a bit delicate, you will be only working on cars from now on"
Sucks BIG Time

Edit: Just spoke with my group training employer and they are going to phone my council supervisor tomorrow. They told me that council can put me on cars for a while to make sure I'm OK, but they will insist to council to not leave me on cars permantly.
Group training are also going to put a notification in with Workcover (not a claim).

I think they're probably just busting ya balls, probably just need to suck it up for a few weeks