Let's drop a nuke on Clorox

[torquill]

I walked into the SciLab computer lab this morning, smelled something, and paused to check. Yup, I could feel brain cells quickly going offline... walked back out. Came back after a few deep breaths to ask the desk guy what I was smelling. After a moment of confusion, he said, "Oh, yeah, I used 409 on the" and stopped when I swore. I called over my shoulder (I was already walking out) that I'm sensitive to it.

I took some C to mitigate the effects, and I should probably take some charcoal in an hour or so to catch the metabolites. It wasn't fresh, but it was recent enough; I'm missing about half my peripheral vision, I'm a bit foggy, and I can feel a few waves of reaction. Lovely.

They've changed the fragrance -- I can smell it now, when it used to be odorless to me. That's a good thing.

Maybe I should stick to Hutchison... there are no whiteboards in here other than the ones in the attached classrooms and the teeny ones that announce the class schedules. I've been lucky on this campus -- this is the second exposure in a year and a half of going to god knows how many rooms. Luck only goes so far, though.

I hope I'm not too toxed out to garden this weekend. The weather's supposed to be great. As it is, I'm glad this didn't happen yesterday before my history midterm...

Edit: Sonofabitch. I go in to MU Station to ask the CRC there about who I should contact about general computer lab policy... and after she hands me a card I realize she's wiping down the counter with 409 right in front of me. DAMMIT.

I wasn't sure whether I should contact IT before, but if they just handed out shiny-new bottles of 409 for all the labs to use, they're damn well hearing from me now. Just as soon as my brain starts functioning again.

Comments

[catnip13.livejournal.com]

Are you ok to get home? Do you need a ride? (Yes I mean it). Call David's cell if you do, it's in one of my recent locked posts. He's working an 8 hour shift today, I can leave Kaia and head to Davis any time after about 4:30 and run you back to Concord.

[amanda-nye.livejournal.com]

that's shitty. maybe talking to janitorial would be better? someone has to be supplying the crates of 409, and it's not the cheapest alternative out there.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

I appreciate the thought -- and I'll keep it in mind for later -- but if I'm coherent enough to post to LJ, I'm okay to get home. ;)

Of course, if I'm not that coherent, I'm not going to realize that I need to call somebody. Last time this happened, when the reaction was much worse, I essentially dragged myself home by fear and autopilot. If I'm that bad again, I'll just crash at the co-ops until I can function.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

There aren't crates of it... this is the first time I've encountered it on campus (the last exposure was from a bottle of Expo that one of the lab TAs had specifically brought in). UCD as a rule uses cheap, safe stuff to clean with. The labs are kind of their own little kingdom.

We'll see what the manager says.