Despite the teasing it has earned me, I always read manuals. How else would I know not to blow dry my hair while sleeping? But now I'm way behind. The manuals that come with this cabin are epic and, as it turns out, frightening. Our generator's manual comes with 3-tiers of "safety message alerts."
"!Danger: You WILL be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you don't follow instructions.
!Warning: You CAN be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you don't follow instructions
!Caution: You CAN be HURT if you don't follow instructions."
And here is a sample warning:
"! Warning: !
The engine exhaust from this product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm."
It's all fun and games until somebody blows up or gets terminally ill.
A family of four leaves Brooklyn's Park Slope, fails to homestead successfully in an off-the-grid log cabin in Maine, and downgrades to faux-homesteading in an on-the-grid farmhouse in Maine.
at least the BQE doesn't come with a warning label. If it did, I think we (new yorkers) would be similarly concerned.
ReplyDeleteHey, is it toluene? Because that's the same warning -- complete with "State of California" -- that made me change my nail polish routine.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue to general gasoline fumes, which may contain toluene, I have no idea. So, yes, Kaari, the BQE probably warrants a !Warning.!
ReplyDeleteThat State of California warning is a classic example of well meaning regulations that become useless through application. There is a "Warning! This building contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer" in the lobby of my office building. It's in the jetway of every airport in the State. Every new car you that you buy has that label permanently affixed to it. I bought some jumper cables online the other day and had to click on a link to let me know that "Warning! This product contains chemicals... yada...California..yadayada"! Gasoline is nasty stuff though, it's full of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene that do cause cancer. When fueling that generator, you should always wear a respirator with a cartridge rated for VOCs - especially if you're fueling that generator in an enclosed space like a shed. -c.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. We do have a respirator, now we'll start using it.
ReplyDelete