Cambridge rail worker's health fears over excrement spray - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Rail workers are being sprayed by human urine and faeces from passing trains, putting their health at risk. A Network Rail worker said staff were "genuinely concerned" about excrement, urine and sanitary towels on the tracks. Network Rail accepted that train toilets which emptied on the track were "outdated and unpleasant" for track workers. Greater Anglia said it was hoping to phase out toilets which dump waste. The man who works across the East Anglia region said: "A train would be coming and we'd stand back the recommended distance. "It's not unusual to feel a spray, a kind of mist in the air. That's bad enough, but then you walk back to where you've been working on the tracks there's [faeces] everywhere."[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-25430657[/url]

Holy shit, trains still do that sort of thing?

God that must feel disgusting, even if you're used to it. Hell, you shouldn't be used to feel a spray of urine coming at you when working.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;43237236]Holy shit, trains still do that sort of thing?[/QUOTE] Of course they do, most of the trains (or more importantly I guess, the carriages) in the UK are pretty old. This whole idea of not just spraying (literal) shit everywhere is quite a new concept.

um ok...simple fix, put a grey water tank on the train and just empty it at each station?

[QUOTE=Sableye;43237284]um ok...simple fix, put a grey water tank on the train and just empty it at each station?[/QUOTE] That is what a retention tank is (in simple terms). But good luck persuading all of the offending train operators to do it. I guess Network Rail could make it a requirement for using their track but I cannot see that happening.

Hello hep B

How decrepit are Britain's trains? Makes me feel better about VR's constant delays during winter, as if they had never seen snow before in their lives.

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;43237609]How decrepit are Britain's trains? Makes me feel better about VR's constant delays during winter, as if they had never seen snow before in their lives.[/QUOTE] The passenger-facing facets are usually in quite good nick. I have a sneaky suspicion the background isn't quite as good quality.

Yes let's just replace the shit tanks of every carriage of every train in the UK. The best solution here is to provide ample protection to workers.

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;43237609]How decrepit are Britain's trains? Makes me feel better about VR's constant delays during winter, as if they had never seen snow before in their lives.[/QUOTE] The trains in my area are really nice. Doesn't show the toilet but usually it's in the carriage where there room for bikes/disabled people. [IMG]http://www.southernrailway.com/uploads/images/large/2205.jpg[/IMG] I'm sure I've seen a guy emptying a thing around the toilet area on the train while I waited at the station before. Although I can't say there looks like there's much of a place to put something to store that kind of waste on a train.

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;43237609]How decrepit are Britain's trains? Makes me feel better about VR's constant delays during winter, as if they had never seen snow before in their lives.[/QUOTE] Depends, it's all private now so it varies. Where I live, trains are quite modern. Additionally, it's a very built up area - spray toilet waste all over the place and you're bound to either cover someone's house or a pedestrian :v:

[QUOTE=Complifused;43237907]The trains in my area are really nice. Doesn't show the toilet but usually it's in the carriage where there room for bikes/disabled people. I'm sure I've seen a guy emptying a thing around the toilet area on the train while I waited at the station before. Although I can't say there looks like there's much of a place to put something to store that kind of waste on a train.[/QUOTE]They're placed in the space on the underside of the train, enough space for a few tanks there.

[QUOTE=Coffee;43237852]Yes let's just replace the shit tanks of every carriage of every train in the UK. The best solution here is to provide ample protection to workers.[/QUOTE] What would you recommend against vapour faeces? Even when they go back to work, there's faeces all over the place. Tools etc. are going to become covered in it

[QUOTE=Coffee;43237852]Yes let's just replace the shit tanks of every carriage of every train in the UK. The best solution here is to provide ample protection to workers.[/QUOTE] How about we do both and not be a bunch of cheap asses?

[QUOTE=Trumple;43237929]Depends, it's all private now so it varies. Where I live, trains are quite modern. Additionally, it's a very built up area - spray toilet waste all over the place and you're bound to either cover someone's house or a pedestrian :v:[/QUOTE]It just seems so bizarre to me, that after all this time they'd never bother to put tanks in for all trains. I mean, Britain is a densely-populated nation, and there's quite a few rather nasty microbes that are transmitted fecally (a particularly worrying one is [I]Clostridium difficile.[/I])

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;43238045]It just seems so bizarre to me, that after all this time they'd never bother to put tanks in for all trains. I mean, Britain is a densely-populated nation, and there's quite a few rather nasty microbes that are transmitted fecally (a particularly worrying one is [I]Clostridium difficile.[/I])[/QUOTE] Well, it would worry me if they started removing tanks, but given this has been going on for some time now and there haven't really been any reports on ill effects e: i'm not saying don't remove it, see my later post on disinfecting chemical toilets

Its nice to know that one of my shits is smeared along the tracks.

Last time I was on a train it was like a sardine tin.

[QUOTE=zvyagintsev;43238039]How about we do both and not be a bunch of cheap asses?[/QUOTE] Because there's about ~1500 carriages that have toilets, and to place in a new toilet system for each one costs money for materials and labour. Then you've also got to take into account that the train would be out of service for some time whilst this work was taking place. It's doable but I don't think the private companies would be very complying. Though I know that the EU get a bit annoyed about this with the trains in the UK, so they could be very persuasive about the matter.

[QUOTE=Trumple;43238177]Well, it would worry me if they started removing tanks, but given this has been going on for some time now and there haven't really been any reports on ill effects[/QUOTE] They said that about asbestos too mate. And just recently we have found many adverse side effects to asbestos. Fecal matter is incredibly dangerous. [editline]19th December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Coffee;43238210]Because there's about ~1500 carriages that have toilets, and to place in a new toilet system for each one costs money for materials and labour. Then you've also got to take into account that the train would be out of service for some time whilst this work was taking place. It's doable but I don't think the private companies would be very complying. Though I know that the EU get a bit annoyed about this with the trains in the UK, so they could be very persuasive about the matter.[/QUOTE] They'd comply if they were held responsible for paying the medical bills of the track workers. If they had to pay hazard compensation to the track workers. If they cared more about the health of the people than a little bit of profits.

[QUOTE=zvyagintsev;43238215]They said that about asbestos too mate. And just recently we have found many adverse side effects to asbestos. Fecal matter is incredibly dangerous. [/QUOTE] I'm not saying don't remove it, I'm saying don't worry about it. People used to pour raw buckets of faeces out windows, at least this way the sewage is disinfected (most if not all toilets on trains are chemical toilets). It's unsanitary and completely backwards, though

[QUOTE=Jsm;43237281]Of course they do, most of the trains (or more importantly I guess, the carriages) in the UK are pretty old. This whole idea of not just spraying (literal) shit everywhere is quite a new concept.[/QUOTE] Most trains in the UK don't do this anymore. Most have been modified/replaced with trains with retention tanks. [editline]19th December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Complifused;43237907]The trains in my area are really nice. Doesn't show the toilet but usually it's in the carriage where there room for bikes/disabled people. [IMG]http://www.southernrailway.com/uploads/images/large/2205.jpg[/IMG] I'm sure I've seen a guy emptying a thing around the toilet area on the train while I waited at the station before. Although I can't say there looks like there's much of a place to put something to store that kind of waste on a train.[/QUOTE] That would have been filling the train with water. They don't empty the tanks in stations, that's all done in the depot.

oh so from the sounds of it there are just a few trains that are either leaking or don't have the system and have never been retrofitted with this. cas you know limiting transmission of airborn shit kinda keeps some nasty diseases from popping up [editline]19th December 2013[/editline] [quote]More than half of Greater Anglia's trains in the Cambridge area do not have retention tanks. The other two operators' trains do not discharge on to the track.[/quote] ah one bad apple shitting on the rest, just fine the company and force them to put tanks on already

[QUOTE=Trumple;43238306]People used to pour raw buckets of faeces out windows,[/QUOTE] Yeah, and how was the general quality of people's health back then? Oh, they didn't live beyond 40 usually? Weird huh? Almost like such exposure to these things is bad for you. I say we all worry about it, because it is a serious health risk. [editline]19th December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Sableye;43239315]oh so from the sounds of it there are just a few trains that are either leaking or don't have the system and have never been retrofitted with this. cas you know limiting transmission of airborn shit kinda keeps some nasty diseases from popping up [editline]19th December 2013[/editline] ah one bad apple shitting on the rest, just fine the company and force them to put tanks on already[/QUOTE] Fine the company and ban use of your track until they comply and put tanks on them.

[QUOTE=zvyagintsev;43239545]Yeah, and how was the general quality of people's health back then? Oh, they didn't live beyond 40 usually? Weird huh? Almost like such exposure to these things is bad for you. I say we all worry about it, because it is a serious health risk.[/QUOTE] It's almost like they didn't have a healthcare system back then.

[QUOTE=Coffee;43239594]It's almost like they didn't have a healthcare system back then.[/QUOTE] Part of a healthcare system is actually doing things like this though. You know, not exposing people to dangerous pathogens? What's better? Curing a million people of dysentery a year, or working to prevent their exposure to the pathogens that cause it?

[QUOTE=zvyagintsev;43239613]Part of a healthcare system is actually doing things like this though. You know, not exposing people to dangerous pathogens? What's better? Curing a million people of dysentery a year, or working to prevent their exposure to the pathogens that cause it?[/QUOTE] chemical toilets are in modern trains, the waste is disinfected. It's still unsanitary and absolutely disgusting, and I'm not defending it, I'm saying it's not going to cause a health crisis

This reminds me of medieval times when people threw all their waste on the streets.

The golden age of railways. [IMG]http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5025061407622379&pid=1.7[/IMG]