At work we have a kitchen area in the Control Room and from time to time it is used for more than warming up our meals from home. We've been known to have some some good meals that have been prepared in our kitchen. Some don't go as planned and the supervisor is usually the one that is stuck here with the odors of the flops.
Popcorn has been known to go nuclear for a few. Someone drops something that had been in the refrigerator too long and there is no known industrial cleaner to wipe out the lingering odor. Or something burns and there are no windows to open and let the smoke and smell out of the Control Room.
Sunday night was the latest kitchen mishap. One of my crew had decided to boil/steam a vegetable. The vegetable was placed in a pot with some water. The fire wasn't very high, he didn't want to rush it, preferring to slow cook it. None of us knew he was cooking, I thought he had already had his supper.
Well, about midnight he needed to check the water plant. While he was out there he knew he might as well take care of the trash rack at the intake. This lead to another task he wanted to do while he was in the area. Upon coming back into building he thought it would be a good time to swap out some oil pads around several pieces of equipment.
About 0200 I started noticing an odd smell. Not really a bad odor but something different. I thought maybe one of the others had fixed them something to eat and didn't pay much attention to the smell. Then around 0215 or so, I started getting a sinus headache. I haven't had one of those in about 8 or 7 years.
Right after that I noticed a haze and a heated metal smell. A quick glance toward the kitchen area and I knew the source of the smell, headache and haze. I wasn't soon enough to save the meal and I was not about to open the lid to see how bad the meal was.
Well one of the others was curious and opened the pot, neither of us had an idea what it was supposed to be
A short time later, the cook arrives back to the Control Room and smells what we had floating in the air. At that point he asked the other operator: "What's that smell?" The other operator looks up at him and says: "We're you cooking . . ." He was never able to finish his comment, the cook spun on his heels and all I saw was a flash as the cook headed for the kitchen.
Now I don't know what this beet was supposed to look like or smell, but I can guarantee I know what it was NOT supposed to look like and smell.
Popcorn has been known to go nuclear for a few. Someone drops something that had been in the refrigerator too long and there is no known industrial cleaner to wipe out the lingering odor. Or something burns and there are no windows to open and let the smoke and smell out of the Control Room.
Sunday night was the latest kitchen mishap. One of my crew had decided to boil/steam a vegetable. The vegetable was placed in a pot with some water. The fire wasn't very high, he didn't want to rush it, preferring to slow cook it. None of us knew he was cooking, I thought he had already had his supper.
Well, about midnight he needed to check the water plant. While he was out there he knew he might as well take care of the trash rack at the intake. This lead to another task he wanted to do while he was in the area. Upon coming back into building he thought it would be a good time to swap out some oil pads around several pieces of equipment.
About 0200 I started noticing an odd smell. Not really a bad odor but something different. I thought maybe one of the others had fixed them something to eat and didn't pay much attention to the smell. Then around 0215 or so, I started getting a sinus headache. I haven't had one of those in about 8 or 7 years.
Right after that I noticed a haze and a heated metal smell. A quick glance toward the kitchen area and I knew the source of the smell, headache and haze. I wasn't soon enough to save the meal and I was not about to open the lid to see how bad the meal was.
Well one of the others was curious and opened the pot, neither of us had an idea what it was supposed to be
A short time later, the cook arrives back to the Control Room and smells what we had floating in the air. At that point he asked the other operator: "What's that smell?" The other operator looks up at him and says: "We're you cooking . . ." He was never able to finish his comment, the cook spun on his heels and all I saw was a flash as the cook headed for the kitchen.
Now I don't know what this beet was supposed to look like or smell, but I can guarantee I know what it was NOT supposed to look like and smell.
