The Smelter Worker
Darcy K Metz

 

The Lunchroom



“Mike, since you’ve been on holidays, we trained a new employee. Her name is Sam. She comes from the potlines, didn’t like it there, can’t blame her. She’s good, has the job down,” said Rob, sitting next to Mike at the very back of the casting lunch room. Mike always sat at the very back. On his shift this was his table, nobody shared it except Rob the odd time.

“Potlines Rob? She’s not complaining yet that we work too hard or too much. Anyone who had a job before Alcan knows nobody works too hard ever in this place,” Mike smirked as he opened his lunch bag. It was the start of the night shift on a Friday, the first of three nights they’d be working. Rob smiled back, then got up and sat at the table in front of Mike’s where he always sat too. The rest of the crew tended towards the front of the lunch room where each shift had it’s own refrigerator. The new crew member Samantha, or Sam as she liked to be called, had been working at the smelter for about 6 years. She put in a transfer to casting to try something different. Sam was an athletic looking woman in her mid thirties. She had blue eyes and natural red hair which was normally shoulder length, but tied back at work. For a person with red hair, she had an attractive complexion, not at all pale.

Sam noticed Mike at the back and approached him to introduce herself as they would be working together on DC3. As she approached Mike, he quickly glanced up at her. He began to cough. The closer Sam approached Mike, the more he coughed, his eyes began to water. “What the hell are you wearing?” coughed Mike in a near fit. He was coughing and spitting.

“What? Are you OK?” Sam was freaked, she appeared to not know what was happening to Mike.

“Your perfume or something, god damn what is it Hawthorn?” Mike blared in between coughs.

“What? Yes, I wear an oil of Hawthorn. Why?” Sam asked.

“Because I’m almost deathly allergic to it that’s why. You trying to kill me on my first day back or what? Get the fuck away from me,” Mike now had red blotches forming on his face. Hives. His allergy was very severe.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I couldn’t have known, nobody told me anything,” exclaimed Sam, “look Mike. Since I’m only trained at DC3, I’ll go shower, change and come back. I had no idea, but believe me I won’t forget this.” Sam almost appeared to leak a smirk as she exited the lunchroom from behind Mike’s table. No sooner had she left than Mike began breathing normal again. His friend Rob was very concerned, “Shit Mike, what are you not allergic too?”

Mike exhaled, wiped his eyes which felt doused in hot sand, “Rob, ya the Hawthorn plant I’m killer allergic too. Ever since my mid twenties, just showed up one day. Never told you because it never came up at work you know?”

“Ya I know. You’re quite a private guy. Hell I’m fifty one and thought I had secrets, man Mike, you always have something interesting new come about every so often,” Rob passed an unopened water bottle to Mike. Rob was right too, in the three years since Mike had joined his shift, Mike never joined in any work functions, never worked overtime, and always took his holidays at the same time each year.

“So Mike how was the holidays? Did you go to Europe again?” Rob asked as Mike opened the bottled water, drinking half of its one litre content.

“Yes Rob. Romania where my family is from. I heard something went down while I was gone,” Mike wiped his face, “thanks for the water buddy. I feel better now.”

“Ya some girl from Terrace disappeared around May 4th. Rumor has it the RCMP think there is a serial killer working Highway 16 all the way from Prince Rupert to Prince George. Thing is, the last few years girls have disappeared on the same day, May 4th,” Rob said all this as he rooted through his work bag to pull out the days edition of the Province newspaper from Vancouver.

“Ya I heard that too Rob. Guess the cops will start looking at the local pig farms a lot more closer now,” Mike had an evil grin as he said this. Rob caught on right away, “Man you are one sick fucker. That’s not even funny, but it is too,” Rob began laughing out loud as Mike joined him. An alarm sounded from the panel in the lunchroom behind Mike. It was a signal from the DC3 operator that he wanted to start. “That fucker Mario loves that button,” Rob said as he got up.

“Go ahead Rob. I’m gonna sit here and make him ring me out at least one more time. I love seeing his frown follow me to the DC,” Mike leaned back in his chair as Rob walked towards the exit to the casting floor.

Later during the nightshirt, well past midnight Rob and Mike were in the lunchroom while a drop was going down. Rob and Mike were partners which meant that they were on break together for every other drop. Mario and Sam were out on DC3 watching the current drop go down. Mike had his dinner out of the microwave and had it in front of him at his table. Tonight he had a pasta dish which was about 90 percent meat. No sooner had Mike sat down than the DC3 signal went off in the lunch room. He looked at Rob and they both frowned and headed to the door. This meant an abort of the cast which for some reason meant the ingots were bad or something in the process was unsafe. Upon approach they noticed Mario running around yelling like a dog on fire. That was normal for Mario when stuff went wrong. Mike could see the problem immediately. Where the trough connected to the furnace, the seal had given and aluminum was spilling fast into the sow pan. They had to plug the furnace and then start over again. “Fucking rookies,” thought Mike to himself meaning that Sam was on furnace 5 and she had made an ineffective seal. Mike was working the crane and would be out there longer than the rest of his crew.

Sometime later Sam and Rob came back to the lunch room. “Shouldn’t we be helping Mike?” asked Sam.

“No. When there is on the crane he refuses help, says he feels safer if he does all the work. His personal preference. Myself, I say hey why not help me,” Rob said as he grabbed his cold plate of dinner from his table and headed back to the microwave.

“Rob, smoke?” Asked Sam as Rob walked away.

“No, I need to eat first. I’ll join you later,” Rob placed his dinner in the microwave.

Sam walked to the rear exit of the lunch room. She noticed Mike’s table and his cold dinner sitting there. She looked back to the front of the lunchroom and nobody was looking her way. She pulled a small container from her pocket and sprinkled small amounts of a very fine white powder on top of Mike’s food. The white substance was instantly absorbed, leaving no visible sign of its presence. Sam closed the container, placed it back in her pocket and exited to have a cigarette.

About thirty minutes had passed and Mike walked into the lunchroom and headed to his table. Rob was in the table in front of him, his dinner plate cleaned and reading the newspaper. Mike sat down and, grabbed his fork and was about to begin eating when Rob turned around. “Dude, you not gonna heat that up?”

“No Rob, I like my meat rare, and this was heated up twice already,” explained Mike as he dug his fork into the food and mixed it about.

“I guess. What kind of meat today? Moose?” asked Rob.

“No. Mountain goat actually, quite good too,” said Mike with a smile, still mixing his room temperature dinner.

“You don’t even hunt, Where you get all this wild game from?” asked Rob.

“Rob, how do you know I don’t hunt at night? Maybe I spend all my money on night vision goggles and sights for my rifles,” Mike looked almost serious.

Rob was thinking for a moment then exclaimed, “You fucker, you don’t even own a gun, you told me! You buy all your game off some native guy who you won’t share with me.”

“Bingo Rob. Can’t get my guy in trouble, selling to the whitest man in history,” Mike said as he placed a fork full of food into his mouth and began to chew. He swallowed within seconds and went for another fork full when his trachea nearly squeezed shut. Mike dropped his fork, grabbed his neck with both hands and tried to gasp. His eyes bulged out. Mike stood up and could not breathe. His face broke out in very red hives, like continents forming upon his face. For the first time Rob could remember, Mike sweated profusely.

“Mike, buddy what can I do?” Rob jumped to his coworker’s side. Mike pointed to the rear exit. Rob helped his friend to get outside the lunchroom. Once outside Mike fell to his knees, keeled over and vomited, his body convulsed violently. Sam was in the smoking shelter with another woman and came out.

“What the hell happened?” asked Sam. Mike was still dry heaving.

“I don’t know Sam. Mike took one bite of his dinner, swallowed then couldn’t breathe. Makes no sense, he has many allergies, so you’d think the lunch he makes would be OK,” explained Rob with his arm over Mikes back.

Mike stood up, saliva dripping from his lips, hives still prominent on his face. “Somebody tried to fucking poison me! Somebody knows I’m deathly allergic to garlic! Whoever did that face me now!” Mike was frantic.

“Mike, who would do that? That’s stupid, we all know you are allergic to garlic man,” Rob faced Mike, had his hands on Mike’s shoulders to attempt to calm him down.

Mike looked at Rob. He trusted Rob. He looked towards Sam, looked at Rob, then lost it, “That bitch did it. She is new, she doesn’t know my allergies so she spiked my dinner with garlic powder, I know she did.”

“Mike that is ridiculous. How could she know you had an allergy if she is new? Maybe something in the meat you got from the Native guy,” Rob held Mike back as he tried to walk towards Sam.

“No Rob! I had eggs and this same meat for breakfast,” Mike glared at Sam, he met her eyes. Sam met his eyes. She was transfixed for a moment, then remembered, shook her head and said, “Mike you are delusional. I don’t even know you enough to not like you.”

“Well we can figure this all out when the foreman gets here,” Mike answered, spit on the ground then walked back into the lunchroom.





The Accident


It was a typical night shift, somewhere after midnight, at the Alcan aluminum smelter. At the casting centre called DC3, aluminum was cast, or poured in long cylinder shapes up to 5800 mm in length. The process at this centre was rather primitive. A trough is attached to a furnace holding 40 tonnes of molten metal. At the furnace, a steel plug is removed from the furnace which starts the flow of metal down the trough which distributes the metal into three basins. Each basin has a number of holes which correspond to a mould in the casting table. Once the aluminum is in the mould, it cools and continues to be cooled by cold water. As a cast, or drop as it is more commonly known begins, the moulds begin to descend into a pit and the aluminum ingots begin to grow. At the end of a cast the operator signals an assistant to raise the down end of the trough via a pneumatic pulley. Another assistant at the furnace end lowers the trough by a chain come-along and the excess metal spills into a ‘sow’ pan. The assistant stands on or near the sow pan as the metal spills but is careful to avoid the splashing. Another assistant is in place with a remote controlled overhead crane for a total of four employees needed to start and complete a cast.

Mike was on the furnace end of the trough tonight. Mike has been working at DC3 for just over three years, so this is already routine for him. It was nearing the end of the cast at the casting centre and everyone was in their place. The counter was at 5300mm and Mario, the operator, was at the end of the trough to give the signal to the casting assistant Rob to raise the trough. Samantha, or Sam to her crew, was working the crane tonight. The aluminum flows down the trough at a temperature just over 700 degrees Celsius and has a silvery, almost mercury like sheen on the surface. Depending on the alloy one can even get a reflection of the surface at times, although this being a most unsafe mirror for grooming purposes. Mike was standing on the sow pan as he was not too tall, being only 5’5”. A removable stand is placed on the ledge of the sow pan so the assistant can stand on the edge of the pan as he lowers the trough and the metal spills into the pan. Once the trough is removed Mike will scrape away the remainder of the aluminum around the furnace plugs with a spatula while standing on the edge of the pan. All of this process is very hot, but the workers wear clothing made of Nomex, a fireproof material similar to what race car drivers wear.

Mario gave the signal, a simple up motion with his hand, and Rob began raising the casting end of the trough. As soon as the trough was clear of the basins, Mike pulled down on the chain of the come-along, lowering the trough. Molten aluminum spilled like a lethal, silvery waterfall into the sow pan, which was now nearly full. As Rob began moving the trough away, Mike leaned over and began scraping the molten metal from under the furnace plugs. Mike heard Mario yell something. As he turned to look towards his operator he happened to glance at Sam who was lowering the crane. She had her jacket undone, exposing her neck some, which is meant to be done up at the end of a cast. Mike happened to see a glint or shimmer from her neck. She was wearing a simple silver chain with a crucifix. As she turned, Mike caught full sight of the necklace. Mike averted his head quickly, he felt dizzy. He fell forward over the sow pan still full of molten metal. Mike quickly reached up for the trough with his left hand, but he was too slow. His right foot managed to make contact with the floor, but his forward momentum caused the front of his lower left leg to be immersed into the molten metal.

“Agghh, fuck!” Mike screamed a scream of decibels higher than any of the machinery nearby. Adrenaline kicked in immediately and Mike bounced out of the trough as soon as his flesh was seared. Smoke billowed from his pant leg and the leather of his work boot like a doused campfire. The smell of burning flesh was overpowering immediately. His pant leg blackened and charred was stained with solidified, yet still very hot pieces of aluminum.

“Shit, Mike..” Mario yelled and ran to his coworker’s aid. Mario helped Mike up, getting Mike’s left arm over his shoulder and quickly led him out of the casting pit to the water tap some ten meters away. “Guys, come help quick!” ordered Mario to his other two assistants. Mike just moaned as Mario helped him to the tap. Rob was quick to beat them to the tap and start the water flow. Rob helped Mario sit Mike down so his lower left leg was under the water stream. Mike fell almost limp to the ground, sat up and leaned his left side against the filthy, dust covered wall. One could almost hear the water sizzle upon first contact with the burn site.

“Gotta get his boot off, rip his pant leg away!” Ordered Mario to Rob.

“I know what to do,” answered Rob. Rob hated being ordered. Rob released the Velcro straps on Mike’s left boot which was layered with a hot veneer of aluminum. The boot came off easy. The wool sock came next, which was a bit tougher. Mario tore at Mike’s pant leg ripping up almost to the crotch. Upon exposure, Mario and Rob both looked at each other with a recognition that said, “Holy Shit!”

“Where the fuck is Sam!” yelled Mario, looking this way and that.

“She’s in the furnace man's shack on the phone, must be calling first aid,” explained Rob, “Mike how you doin’ there buddy?” Colour was coming back to Mike’s face, what colour he did have as he was always pale. Mike opened his eyes, looked at his shin, then looked up at Rob, “Well Rob, aside from the agony, I’m doing pretty fucking good.” Mike managed a smile which put Rob somewhat at ease.

“Mike we gotta keep the water running on that burn till the first aid gets here,” explained Mario as though talking to not a grown man.

“Thanks Mario, I was gonna get up and leave, but guess I can stay here for a bit,” Mike answered with a wincing smile. Mario just glared at him a moment, his permanent frown encircled by his mustache. He then turned and galloped towards the furnace man's shack.

Mike’s entire left leg was covered in a mass of blisters from just below his knee to just above his ankle where his boots had ended. Second degree burns surrounded by an equal area of redness of first degree. Mike had his hard hat and safety glasses off. Through the entire ordeal, Mike had not broken a sweat. Rob noticed this, “Mike, I don’t get you. You never sweat.”

Mike sat there under an ever expanding pool of water which appeared to well up under the filth of the smelter floor. “Rob, my system is a mess. Always has been. I’m on all those meds, and they screw my system up. That’s why I can only work night shifts. Aside from my sun allergy, I can’t sleep at night.” Rob looked down at the cold water carrying away the heat from Mikes burns. Rob thought that the blisters appeared to be shrinking. Must be the cold water he thought. Rob laughed, looked back at Mike, “what do you sleep in, a coffin or what Mike?”

Mike laughed back, “That’s right Rob. A coffin filled with the soil of my native land.”

“OK there Bram Stoker,” replied Rob. Mario and Sam came back and looked puzzled to these two laughing.

“Mike, first aid attendant is on her way. It’s my friend Eve,” said Sam as Mike stood up on his own. “Friend of yours, fuck that. I’ll be fine. Just have to go to the locker room and change.”

“Mike are you crazy, look at the size of that burn. It’ll get infected,” said Sam.

“Look, I don’t trust you, so I’m not going to trust some friend of yours to treat my leg,” scowled Mike now standing up.

“What? You still going on about that? Eve has a job to do just like you and I. She’s a good first aider,” yelled Sam. Just as these two were about to get into it, their supervisor Bill walked over hearing this argument that was ensuing, “Strigoi, you’re going to first aid, that’s all there is to it you crazy Italian.”

“What is with everyone! For the last time Strigoi is Romanian! And I have the right to refuse treatment Bill, I know my rights,” Mike almost appeared a shade above pale.

“Well then as your supervisor I have the right to send you home as I feel you are now unfit for work,” as Bill said this, his cell phone beeped with an incoming text message.

Mike thought this over quickly. “Fine. I’ll go to first aid, she can wrap this up and I’ll change and come back to work. If she sends me to the hospital, I’ll just go home on my own. I need new boots by the way.” Mike was angry but knew the foreman had the final say.

“Well that’s between you and the first aid attendant Mike. I’ll go to stores and get you new boots. Just cooperate all right,” instructed Bill, who turned and began walking away before Mike could say anything.

The rest of the crew went back to work as Eve, the first aid attendant drove Mike to first aid after discussing that he didn’t need any further treatment at the scene. Mike limped into the first aid treatment room and sat up on the hospital style bed. Eve was a temp in the first aid department. She was just a shade over nineteen and had just received her first aid ticket not more that six months prior to being hired a month ago. She had the young Brittany Spears look about her, very beautiful but innocent and trusting at the same time. She was very nervous as this was the worst injury she’s yet had. She grabbed a clipboard as Mike laid back in the bed.

“I need to take a set of vitals first ok,” Eve sounded like she was asking permission.

“Do what you have to do,” Mike replied annoyed. He was at least twice her age.

When Eve went to take his pulse she could find no pulse on either of Mike’s radial pulses. His complexion was pale and his skin was very cool to touch. Inside she panicked, this pointed to obvious shock. She felt for his carotid artery on his neck and got a pulse of 41, very slow and not easily felt even here. Mike noticed the colour fade from Eve’s skin immediately. Annoyed he told her, “Look before you freak out, I have a number of medical conditions and I am on a number of meds which will affect my vital signs. You’d only get a pulse on my wrist after I was running. I’m pale because I have a sun allergy, and I only work nights, so I get no colour. I’m on meds for hypertension, which gives me a low pulse rate. You should see a nurse try and take my blood. It’s not pretty.” Mike looked her in the eyes, his stare almost seemed to calm her some.

“Ok, I was just worried. I’m just going to clean this burn before I dress it and send you to the hospital.”

“Uh, no. You will clean it and dress it here. I will sign the first aid record stating that I refused referral to medical aid and that’s it. Clear.”

“Well, no. But I guess I can’t make you go,” Eve was visibly nervous again. She went to the fridge and grabbed an unopened bottle of sterile saline solution to rinse off the burn. She began dousing Mike’s burns with the saline and ever so gently wiping away dirt with sterile gauze pads. Upon doing this Mike’s blisters appeared to deflate some, and the surrounding first degree burns were fading in redness. Eve thought it a miracle that he had no third degree burns. Eve was very uneasy about not sending Mike to the hospital for further treatment. Everything in her training said he needed medical follow up. Being the Christian girl that she is, Eve began to pray in her mind, “Please God let this man’s burns heal proper. I don’t want to get in trouble, but I don’t want him to get an infection. Please Lord let him see the value in seeking further attention.”

The saline was very soothing to Mike. The burns had stopped hurting all that much, but this made it feel so much better. Then something happened. The saline went from cool and soothing to hot, caustic, burning. Before he kicked, both Mike and Eve saw the saline pour from the bottle, make contact with Mikes skin just below the knee, and massive blisters form and burst. The saline sank into the tissues like acid, burning right into the tibia bone below the knee. Mike just gasped, his eyes rolled back in his head his body convulsed and he went unconscious. Eve was mortified. She poured more saline below, and it ate away everything right to the bone. Stunned she threw the bottle to the floor. The open wounds began to expand, gape more. In panic, Eve grabbed a stainless steel basin, filled it with tap water and splashed it upon Mike’s lower limb. He inhaled deeply, but was still unconscious. Eve was somewhat relieved when the gaping wounds ceased to expand.

“I’m so going to get fired,” Eve said under her breath as she phoned Plant Protection for assistance

 

 

Copyright © 2007 Darcy K Metz
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"