Who's Sick after NJ Regional?

[Chrisms]

wait wait. freeze. (no pun intended about the ice.. haha)

is that stuff that was over the ice toxic in any way shape or form? I'm picturing asbestos (spelling?) type stuff here.. .I'm paranoid, yes, but if you saw my HS you would be too.

[Nuttyman54]

i doubt it was asbestos, but all the dust MAY have violated OSHA standards...

[KenWittlief]

no, its mostly recycled cardboard

well... unless you are allergic to frozen cardboard

[Wayne C.]

kids under stress + poor eating habits + even worse food+ walking around a cold ice rink all day + contact with 100s of kids from all over the world = robo flu


Maybe the virus going around is the real "FIRST fever"


WC

[Libby K]

Maybe the virus going around is the real "FIRST fever"

SO TRUE.

i'm not home with the flu, but i am definitely feeling sickly, and it's getting worse.

it's probably just the lack of sleep and the unhealthy food and the stress...

i doubt it's the cardboard.

[Chrisms]

Originally Posted by Nuttyman54

i doubt it was asbestos, but all the dust MAY have violated OSHA standards...

i know it's not asbestos, but i'm worried that it's something similar..

and wait, what's OSHA? ohio state health admin? that's my guess

[JC-75]

Personally, giving my first chairman's presentation put me under a lot of stress... Getting the material together and doing logistics work for outreach has been my life for the past 12 weeks and that alone took a lot out of me... to top it off, excessive cheering, lack of sleep, and stress in general was my explanation for my sudden cold. Could have been something at the arena, who knows. At least seniors get to come in late on HSPA days at HHS

[Greg Perkins]

Originally Posted by Chrisms

i know it's not asbestos, but i'm worried that it's something similar..

and wait, what's OSHA? ohio state health admin? that's my guess

OSHA stands for "Occupational Safety and Health Association"

[Nuttyman54]

All workplaces are required to adhere to OSHA rules or they risk being shut down.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Chrisms

i know it's not asbestos, but i'm worried that it's something similar..

and wait, what's OSHA? ohio state health admin? that's my guess

There is nothing to be concerned about.

Asbestos is so dangerous because it is inorganic - it never decays. Further, the special crystalline structure of some forms of asbestos make it embed itself into tissue, so coughing and other body functions that would rid you of foreign matter do not work.

The material is paper, with water-resistant glue. You can literally eat it. Not very tasty or nutritious, but not even slightly toxic. The only danger might be from a large piece of it hitting you.

Here, and in general, avoid jumping to conclusions without research. This will serve you well in life.

On the other hand, I was unhappy with the mess it made of my pants, jacket, and anything else that touched the ground. Not to mention, those few pieces that were sliding around nearly an inch - someone might have tripped (though nobody did).

And to those who got sick: Did you wash your hands??

Don

[Jay H 237]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

that and the incredible stress to your system from being engaged in a 3 day / 4 day trip like a FIRST regional.

Lack of sleep
poor eating / nourishment
high adrenaline levels
pressure to perform under adverse conditions
excessive noise

all these things will drop your immune system ability to ward off illness.

I think Ken hit the nail on the head here.

If you're having the flu symptoms then you caught a bug. The dust may have just irritated your throat and only made you feel worse. Those with asthma would be affected the most. Going back to the post about asbestos or something similar you have to remember that even the people who worked with asbestos years ago didn't get sick right away.................it took years. It just doesn't make sense that the dust was the cause of the sickness, rather it was just a factor contributing to the discomfort already associated with a bug.

My .02

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

There is nothing to be concerned about.
Here, and in general, avoid jumping to conclusions without research. This will serve you well in life.

Don

I don't know if the link is to the correct product, but It does say the OSHA requires a resperiator if too much of the stuff is in dust form...

HOWEVER, this is probably much less of a factor than alll the things that Ken Wittlief mentioned.

[ScoutingNerd175]

My entire team (basically) got sick during and after nationals. It was icky. Reminded me of the days I spent working with kids at my theatre. When I go to my high school I get exposed to all the illnesses going around Enfield. When I go to regionals, I get exposed to all the illnesses going around 53 school districts in the area... on that note I think I need to wash my hands again.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Nuttyman54

I don't know if the link is to the correct product, but It does say the OSHA requires a resperiator if too much of the stuff is in dust form...

HOWEVER, this is probably much less of a factor than alll the things that Ken Wittlief mentioned.

I wasn't there, but it is extremely unlikely to have been Homasote. Unless it was really soft and kind of crumbly... Someone else up there in the thread suggeste Masonite, which is more likely. Homasote is an old product that isn't used much anymore.

But, yes indeedy, long term exposure to heavy concentrations of wood dust can be dangerous (mostly nasal and sinus problems), but a couple of days in the presence of Masonite dust isn't going to cause permanent problems for anyone, and won't cause real short-term problems for anyone who doesn't have allergies or asthma.

And OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

[Bharat Nain]

I don't know what it was..but it got me sick. NJ Regional does that every year...