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124 Comments
- crawfishsoul, on 10/12/2007, -3/+199I'm not a microbiologist but I think I could safely assume that human feces and urine can't be much more sanitary that human blood, regardless of the source.
The guy was using a pressure washer to clean out the sewer. Why in the hell wasn't he wearing a mask, goggles, and other protective gear?
And where else would you dispose of large quantities of blood? (*Hint*See the second to the last paragraph of the article) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+99All sewerage is considered biohazard. It is by definition filled with human waste and the possibility of disease is very high. It is treated at the sewer treatment plant before it is discharged into rivers/oceons etc. and is therefore not a big deal unless someone falls into it.
The worker was an idiot for not wearing protective gear. Having feces splash you is as bad as having blood do the same. - pingwax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+88It seems to me that these guys should have already been wearing protective gear. I'm fairly confident that when cleaning a sewer, there isn't going to be anything from anywhere that I'd want to get in my mouth.
- Coven, on 10/12/2007, -4/+89Is he sure it was blood and not a river of pink slime?
he should call 555-2368
They'll believe him! - Cwo655321, on 10/12/2007, -6/+72@quomen
because as dangerous as AIDS is in the body; it almost instantly dies once outside the body.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS - brodie57, on 10/12/2007, -3/+45man i get so bitchy on those heavy flow days.
- Takteek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+41Yeah that was my first reaction. If you are cleaning sewers and _anything_ sprays in your face, you should be worried about it. What's so special about blood?
- hoop6, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37Minneapolis is not full of hate though. Minnesota nice.
- SuckMyDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36Lmao... so uh.. when he cleans the sewers does he normally stand over them with his mouth wide open? How many times has he had ***** and piss in his mouth and not said a word? I WANNA KNOW!
- quomen, on 10/12/2007, -8/+43yeah i realized that as soon as my post became uneditable..
which is why mosquitoes can't transmit the virus. - h3ndrix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32Vampires do live underground.
- enderu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+33Your title is a bit sensational. Blood isn't gurgling up from the city sewers into the streets...the guy was *in* the sewer using a *pressure washer.*
Maybe that's common for you, but I don't usually find myself in such scenarios. - LordLucless, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29Urine is sterile when it leaves the body. Once out though, it's a nice place for all sorts of nasties to take up residence in.
- EmperorAwesome, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27Clearly someone was battling a deadite down there.
- brodie57, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24i silently ate ***** for years and the day i drank a splash of swine menstruation i said, you know what, I have to get my name on the 6 o'clock news!
- vonskippy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18HIV virus can't reproduce or survive very long outside a living host, so the odds of infected blood discharged into the sewer and staying infectous is practically zero.
Personally, I'd worry more about getting Hepatitis from the raw sewage. - punchingjudy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17That was pathetic.
- PaulOwen, on 10/12/2007, -12/+24Human urine is completely sterile. It can even be drunk safely, if you like the taste. I drink green tea at work, and whenever anyone asks me what it is I say "Urine - nature's elixir!"
- unknamed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12You first.
Please.
Idiot.
Just the one of you. - ConfusedONE, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14Either it's the first plague that's being sent or a really really clever viral marketing for "The Reaping".
- olik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7A day early for April Fools
- DeskFlyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"We have changed the procedure to ensure they're wearing goggles or a face mask while they are above that manhole,"
Um....shouldn't this be SOP when working on *any* part of a city sewer system? - emorphien, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7well people do more than pee, so even if urine might be less of a concern it's certainly mixed in with that other stuff people spend a lot of time making.
what is that? oh I forget. - rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@ ez12a - HIV/AIDS retrovirus when outside of the body quickly denatures, so no, you could not pick it up like this and have it still infect you. Regardless, it still is not a good idea to come into contact with bodily fluids.
- razrielle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Did they even have sewers in soviet Russia?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Manhole is closed due to AIDS.
- BPShirase, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7all right, any day now, zombies. Or what ever the T-Virus will mutate folks from Minneapolis to.
- DRINKxREDxBULL, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10@ coven
Sorry coven - MN is nothing like the movie Fargo, it was total fiction, and it really p!$$es off Minnesotans. - NealV, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@vs292
Stop being an ass, you answered your own question. When blood leaves the body through a wound or such the blood cells very quickly begin to die, the blood dries out, and the virus, without any living hosts to stay in, quickly degrades and "dies".
Blood transfusions are used because you NEED the blood cells. The cells are are kept alive, and that is where the HIV virus is stored (either as viral DNA incorporated into the white blood cell's own DNA or as assembled HIV virus inside the cell). As long as the white blood cells are kept alive, the virus will be viable as well. - loganhid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4those Teenage mutant heroes ninja turtles are kicking some real ass down in the sewers
- rabidmonkey1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3*Bruce Campbell Pose*
Come get some. - masgrada, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4^ e coli O157
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have to admit, is sounds credible. GJ.
- FunkyPits, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I prefer the Shinning from the Simpsons.
Thats funny the blood usually gets off on the second floor.
I tell you what Smithers if we come back and he has murdered his family I owe you a Diet Coke. - Quag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Fargo and Moorhead (Fargo's Minnesotan counterpart) are practically the same city, joined by a bridge.
- judsond, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2In terms of sheer number of pathogens feces is much more dangerous than blood. It's not super likely blood will have any pathogens at all, and any that do exist there are almost certainly viral and may not do well in the sewer environment for any amount of time.
The HIV thing, where it denatures outside the body is true, although the assumption is usually that it's dried, like on a tabletop. Obviously if you draw someone's blood and incubate it at 37C it will be stable in that environment for well over 10 seconds. Dilute blood in a sewer environment probably wouldn't be very amendable to hiv stability, although I don't have any references for that.
Feces on the other hand has *a lot* of bacteria and it is much more hearty and adaptable than blood born viruses. A large portion of those bacteria, including many pathogens, would definitely survive in the sewer environment. This employee should be wearing fairly extensive personal protective equipment. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I heard it's because some people use it to distill vodka.
- physphd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5It is not inaccurate. From FTA:
"The Met Council said it was a mix of human and animal blood used in medical testing at this nearby lab."
"According to the Met Council, there are about four slaughterhouses, about 20 hospitals, and about a dozen medical and pharmaceutical companies that have permits [to dump blood in the sewer system]." - rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4You haven't lived, then. ;)
- rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3masgrada, sorry but I whole-heartedly disagree.
?Scientists and medical authorities agree that HIV does not survive well outside the body, making the possibility of environmental transmission remote."
"Since the HIV concentrations used in laboratory studies are much higher than those actually found in blood or other specimens, drying of HIV-infected human blood or other body fluids reduces the theoretical risk of environmental transmission to that which has been observed - essentially zero. Incorrect interpretations of conclusions drawn from laboratory studies have in some instances caused unnecessary alarm.
Results from laboratory studies should not be used to assess specific personal risk of infection because (1) the amount of virus studied is not found in human specimens or elsewhere in nature, and (2) no one has been identified as infected with HIV due to contact with an environmental surface. Additionally, HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions; therefore, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host."
cdc webpage
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa35.htm
Although I cannot blame you for your position. This myth has been pervasive in the literature about HIV/AIDS, probably added as a precaution and then transmuted into "wive's tales." - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Also, my room is padded.
- rowlodge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1thats just from the "soylent green" factories.
- Yage2006, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I see the government is finally doing something about the homeless.
- GoldYoshi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1True, but still gross. I live there, too!
- capellathestar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Either explain the "joke" or don't post it where you know majority of people won't get it. ***** snob.
- Hegemony, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, because being splashed with blood means it immediately absorbs into your blood stream... and not only that, it also concentrates serum proteins. /sarcasm
- Hegemony, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually, R&D Systems (like most biotech companies) adheres to the accepted protocols for the disposal of waste products. Blood is sterilized by autoclave and bleaching before being dumped. Don't freak out.
- rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Sorry, wrong spot. :(
- courtarro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I doubt it. R+D Systems looks like a real company, really located in Minneapolis: http://www.google.com/search?q=R+%26+D+Systems+minneapolis
- marm0lade, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why did the jackass who submitted this story have to title it with "city says its OK'"? Like that is ironically bad or something. If the submitter had a clue he would know that yea, it is ok, since that how it is supposed to be disposed of. What is not ok in this story if this fact that the sanitation worker was not informed they were currently dumping blood while he was working, or that he was not wearing protective gear.
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