I Think You Missed Something –
The Report: “Said Engineer Timothy Hardeman, a Fire Department spokesman – ‘There is no danger at this time.’ ”
I read this in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram in an article by Deanna Boyd related to a visit to the Miller Brewery by the Fire Department. True, they were looking for “chlorine gas” and found none, but I think they missed another significant danger.
Someone, either the Fire Department, or the newspaper staff, advised us about the dangers of “chlorine, one of the most commonly made chemicals in the United States, has many uses, including killing bacteria in drinking and swimming pool water and making pesticides and rubber, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At room temperature, it is a yellow-green gas with a strong odor similar to that of bleach. Exposure can cause wheezing, burning of the eyes and skin and fluid buildup in the lungs. At high levels, it can bring on eye and skin burns, lung collapse and death, according to the center.”
They forgot to remind us about the dangers of too much beer. Beer is a common product produced in the United States and almost always has a negative effect on the human body and brain when consumed in large amounts. Beer bellies and impaired thinking are relatively minor outcomes resulting from frequent consumption. At room temperature it smells awful, but is often colored beautifully golden, and appears to be quite inviting. After it is properly cooled and several cans or bottles have been introduced into the human system a multitude of things can, and often do, go wrong. Neophytes often discover nausea, anger, depression, jail and such, while long-time users discover ways to hurt, damage, and destroy things – like home, family and friends.
At high levels it can bring on an assumption of invincibility, for example, that one can drive one’s car at high speeds without regard for recklessness, which often results in the injury and/or death of others on the roadway. (A side note here) Police officers (especially those in Ft. Worth) who use the product in excess seem, in particular, to have a lot of difficulty with this weighty problem.
I think, Mr. Hardeman, you might want to rethink that “danger” thing.