Dangerous Tunnel Construction Permitted

I’m sitting in my production suite making DVDs from Big Dig video of tunnel construction and watching men without hard hats hang ceiling panels in the Ted Williams Tunnel. They give hardy handshakes to a Bechtel supervisor who stops by to glad hand and ignores the obvious OSHA violations. I can not help but wonder what other safety measures were overlooked in the cozy friendships of project managers and contractor field supervisors. Half-ton ceiling panels of concrete covered by porcelain are lowered into the tunnel deep under the harbor by crane. The 4 x10 panels are held together by a steel grid that will be hand bolted to steel bars suspended from the top of the tube tunnel. They look lightweight compared to the panels that plunged down to crush Milena Del Valle. The steel rods appear to be suspended from brackets bolted into the upper concrete ceiling. The heavy panels are raised into place by a machine. In early investigations, it has been determined that at least one of these ceiling sections of the Ted Williams Tunnel has to be replaced before more deaths occur. The Mass Turnpike connector tunnel needs much more work to ever approach a reasonable level of safety.

Next tape. I can see the density of the rebar in the connector tunnel, noticing the words “EAST BOUND” painted on girders suspended over the lane where Milena Del Valle lost her life in an avoidable ceiling tunnel collapse. It’s clear to me from the last two tapes that a stubborn decision by project managers to use ceiling panels that were too heavy despite warnings about design from contractors probably cost her life last month. On the screen, the iron workers twist the rebar ties relentlessly . It becomes more obvious why construction workers who hung the cumbersome 2-ton ceiling panels in 12-ton grid arrangements would have been frustrated. Trying to bore clean holes to hold bolts affixed to the ceiling by epoxy would have been tricky, the drill repeatedly thwarted by rebar. The rebar is tied together in thick streams inside the concrete structure. In long camera shots it looks like a solid green sea, and up close the 3 or 4 inches between vertical and horizontal bars form an odd looking clear and green plaid wall.

The tape moves to close-ups of worker’s faces. I speculate that working overhead with concrete bits and dust falling down in your face while trying to hoist a drill heavy enough to bore a hole for each bolt must have been very frustrating. Boring once again into the rebar, it would have been so tempting to just epoxy a hole to insert the bolt even if the hole was not 100% concrete, not understanding the epoxy would not bond to the rebar. I can imagine one of these workers thinking that no one would ever know the difference if he did not try again an inch away to make a clean hole. Late at night working in a cold and lonely tunnel where the light is so dim, peering into a concrete hole to see if it is clean would be too hard for almost anyone. Perhaps one of the workers I’m watching decided to indicate to a buddy in charge of heating epoxy that the hole bored into rebar was bored through only concrete.

Maybe today he is worried that he will be asked about this. I do have a few questions for the people who hung that ceiling. Did you use the shirt sleeve on your shoulder in the heat of the early summer morning to wipe the sweat that was dripping down your face? Do you remember how your skin felt like cracking while sweat mixed with concrete bits? Did your throat tightened from the acrid smell of the chipped cement while your arms ached from the pounding drill overhead? That must have made your decision easier to justify. Each time the drill screeched into rebar and showered your bare arms beyond the thick work gloves with sparks that bit your skin and singed the hair escaping from under your hard hat, it must have been easier to ignore the instructions to get a clean hole. I can understand if you signaled another worker to insert the epoxy. I don't condone it, but I can understand it.

I imagine your thoughts at night when you lie awake unable to sleep despite the number of drinks that are supposed to drown out the voice in your head. What did the project managers expect? You told them twice that this epoxy was not going to work and they looked at you like you must be lazy, crazy, stoned or worse. Or you kept your mouth shut so the official engineer in a tie and hard hat with a clip board and the clean smell of aftershave would give you some overtime that you needed for new school clothes for the kids. But that was no excuse to proceed anyway, despite instructions on the epoxy. You know who you are and it’s time to come forward. Yes, I know what happened to Keaveney and his memo. No one is talking about a confession or heroism. Just let the press know, anonymously if you need to, anything about the Big Dig that you know was not done well. Do it now while the federal investigation is just starting. After all, that could have been someone you loved in the tunnel last month or it might be a family member of yours in the future.

According to the Boston Globe coverage this week, the design team under contract for the connector tunnel in the early 1990s was misinformed that the ceiling would be the lighter weight design used in the Ted Williams Tunnel. Later, when the design changed to very heavy concrete panels, this design firm warned the project managers. Aside from warnings from designers and complaints from contractors about the weight of the selected design for the tunnel ceiling panels, CA/T project managers went ahead with the heavier concrete slabs to “save MONEY”! This decision was the final decision from politicians and engineers who ended up spending $14.8 billion or more for a project originally estimated at $2.3 billion.

While not in keeping with the quality of work that unions profess, it’s easier to understand the neglect of the concrete worker searching for a clean hole than the blatant contempt for public safety shown by the project managers and engineers who were warned repeatedly about this potential structural failure. What is the excuse? Was it the bead of sweat over trying to pay themselves and Bechtel a small fortune and keep the costs for the project in line with the budget? Was it the choked up ache in the throat from their latest signing bonus for yet another brother-in-law without experience for a white collar job? Were their arms aching from signing checks for themselves and their friends?

Members of the Joint Venture (the state and Bechtel/Parsons, Brinkerhoff ) had information that the tunnel ceiling design might not be safe following safety tests of the bolts in 1994. There were reports of problems with the bolts in both the eastbound and westbound lanes. The response of at least one managing project director was to order further load testing in the High Occupancy Vehicle lane only. The High Occupancy Vehicle lane bolts tested well for loads that were double the weight of the ceiling panels.

These officials then chose to handle the problem the way many problems are handled in Boston, by taking care of their own and disregarding everyone else. According to the Boston Globe on August 16, special privileges were extended for project managers and the employees of the MBTA. Project Managers and employees of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority received special status to travel in the High Occupancy Vehicle lane at all times. This was the only lane tested for ceiling safety that was shown to be safe in the connector tunnel. Where is the moral outrage in Boston? Will the politically privileged get a pass on such contemptible behavior while they scrutinize the half dozen Walsh employees who actually installed the ceiling bolts in the panel that collapsed? Give me a break. The project managers and engineers who failed to heed the warnings should be in jail by now. Attorney General Tom Reilly is too busy covering his own neglect of a Bechtel lawsuit while counting campaign contributions from Bechtel and project managers in his run for Governor to get his job done.

The next Governor of this Commonwealth has a really big job, a different kind of Big Dig. It will be a monumental task to root out the patronage havens in the 40 or so quasi-public authorities. These semi-private agencies get their money from the Commonwealth, but have no responsibility or accountability to the people of this state. Mitt Romney has done little to help this state over the past three years and we have yet to see if his new leader appointment at the Turnpike can actually accomplish anything. If he wanted to really demonstrate some leadership he would clean house at every quasi-public authority in this Commonwealth before he goes off to run for President. Actually, cleaning out the patronage and getting rid of the buddy deals between government and contractors would be good practice for the next occupant of the White House, whoever gets the job.
©2006, Dale Orlando

Dale Orlando holds a Masters degree in community psychology and organizational development. Career successes include grants writing, television production and web development. Polaris Production LLC can assist fund raising and web development for small business and non-profits at www.PolarisProduction.com/consult-form.html

Related Information of Interest:

Free Movies? Legal? You've Got To Be Kidding!
Have you heard of the saying "you get what you pay for"? Have you also heard about all of the ruckus that went on over the sites that allowed people to share files for free? Well if so, or even if not, I don't blame you for being incredulous when you hear me claim that I can tell you that there are sites that give you unlimited access to free movies, and completely legally. Well let me tell you how these sites work in the next several paragraphs.

Free movies is actually a creative marketing ploy, because there are actually fees involved. They can say that though because if you are a member of their site than you get access to all of their "free" movies. Basically what it boils down to is a site that operates very much like a cable company and charges a monthly fee to come be able to come to their site and download movies. They do get to keep them which is the super cool thing about these sites and makes them totally worth the cost.

So how do they make any money? Well they are on the internet so their market has huge potential. They are not limited by geography like a movie rental store would be or a cable company for that matter. So volume is a huge thing they bank on. So won't people just get on the site for one month or so and download all of the movies that they want and then get out? Wouldn't they lose money on people like this? Well the answer is yes and no. You see for one thing there is such a huge volume of films is would be hard to download all of the movies that you want in one month. Besides people don't want their hard drives full of free movies. The other major thing is that good movies aren't just going to all of a sudden stop coming out. People are going to want to stay members so that they can get the new releases that come out periodically.

Maybe now you are seeing the benefits that cause people to become members and then "give" them all the free movies that they could ever want. Maybe now you will go and check out one of these great sites. They are easy to find, trust me. All that you have to do is search for free movies and you will get more sites than you new existed for this new way to sell movies.

Trenton Martkes ultimate goal in life is to watch as many movies as he can. His knowledge of movies is unmatched in those his age (26) or younger. If you would like more valuable information about free movies please go to: www.allfreemovies.info

Da Wingy Code
Critics say the film is crap. The people say it’s insulting to God. It’s banned, and then it’s not. We have not had such a circus over a new movie release for quite some time now. I almost missed all the hoopla.

Thank you Mr. Ron Howard. Thank you for waking the sleeping masses. Why do we see all these protest over a film that no one has seen yet? It’s everyone’s chance to get his or her 15 minutes of fame I guess. It did bring about an interesting sound byte by the Director of The Da Vinci Code at the press conference at Cannes though. He said to all the people that were protesting the release of the film “Don’t watch it!” I think that’s reverse psychology at its best. He went on to say that those who think that they might be offended by the movie should wait tell they meet someone who has actually seen the film and then discuss the matter and decide whether to watch it or not.

For heavens sake, it’s a work of fiction. Let it be. You won’t turn to dust if you watch it or be condemned to eternal damnation for that matter. The Da Vinci Code movie is just like any other mainstream commercial cinema on the planet, the main objective it to make money. All this extra good or bad publicity only helps it along on that path. But who will explain this to the scores of “faithful” that call for a ban on it. These people are too wrapped up in sentiment.

The one other interesting point to note from all of this was that Ron Howard also reminded everyone that this was a movie and not a documentary. That’s another crucial mistake that people seem to be also making. Somewhere under the arc lights of today’s sharp marketing campaigns that are attached to mega budget productions the line between reality and fiction often blurs. In the process of trying to sell the movie we see it to be packaged as something that really took place. The advertising and marketing people have skills so well honed now that they can almost create any reality that they want. You could say that in many ways it’s the victim of its own success.

Lets not forget that the movie is based on a bestseller. The books are still on the shelves and selling at hyper speed. If the book is still around why ban the movie?

Sasha Masand the founder of Indian Voice Overs is an award winning Television Producer who has been part of the Indian media industry for over twelve years.

Photography Q&A: The Basics Of Developing Photographs
* Can I develop my own photographs?

Yes, you can. By having your own darkroom, it is possible that you can develop your own photos. You first need to set up your own darkroom and buy darkroom equipment.

* What equipment and supplies do I need in a darkroom?

A darkroom requires many kinds of equipment to get you started in developing your photos. It is expensive, so you should prepare a sufficient amount of money to get into this hobby.

The darkroom necessities are:

• Enlarger
• Negative carrier
• Lens Board
• Lens
• Safelight
• Print trays
• Timer
• Thermometer
• Funnel
• Chemical jugs
• Developer, stop, fixer
• Printing paper
• Mixing rod
• Print squeegee
• Dust brush
• Graduates
• Negative Storage
• Dark Bag/ Dark room
• Film tank
• Film reels
• Film

Above is the equipment you need for a darkroom. However, you still need additional equipment to set up a complete darkroom above and beyond the former, which includes:

• Paper cutter
• Color print drum
• Motor base for print drum or rotary processor
• Color head or filters
• Color printing paper
• Color chemicals
• Jugs and graduates for color chemistry
• Color print viewing filter kit
• Light table
• Dry mount press
• Mounting tissue
• Bulk film loader
• Film cassettes
• Darkroom sink
• Water board
• Film drier
• Print drier
• Toners
• Jugs for toners
• Exposure/color analyzer
• Repeating printing timer
• Photo Oils/pencils
• Print tongs
• Hypo clear, photo-flow
• Easel
• Polycontrast Filters
• Film clips
• Print washer
• Blotter book
• Projection scale
• Antistaticum
• Canned air
• Loupe
• Cropping guide
• Film washer
• Cotton gloves
• Spotting dyes
• Spotting brush
• Contact printer
• Grain focuser

* What makes a good darkroom?

A good darkroom should be light-proof, spacious, have dry and wet areas, have ventilation, have bench space, be organized, have a safe light, and be comfortable to work in. Since you will be working with chemicals, it is important that you have enough space to maneuver to avoid tripping over dangerous chemicals.

Travis Partrige is a regular contributor to photographer guides and photography-related sites such as Photography Question and Answer. Website: www.PhotographyQA.com

Using Filters In Photography
Photographic filter is an attachment that will allow certain kinds of light to be able to pass through, and able to reduce or block out other unwanted light sources.In short, the term filter really means anything that modifies the incoming light in some way and includes: polarizing screens, multi-image prisms,close-up attachments, soft focus filters, neutral density (ND) filters, graduated ND filters, and color filters for black and white photography. Filters come in two main shapes: round and square.

Filters add color and a certain touch to a photo that complements the individuals style of photo taking. When you are using a black and white film with filters, you can darken or lighten the tone of the subjects color. The color filters that are used can darken the tone of an opposite color and brighten the tone of the color filter that is being used. For an example, a red filter will make the red leafs on an autumn tree look very rich and bright, while on the other hand the sky behind it that was blue, is now almost black.

Neutral density filters reduce the light entering your camera so that a slower shutter speed,or a larger aperture can be used. Graduated ND filters are used to balance out bright skies against darker foreground scenes.

A neat filter is called the star filter. This type of filter in photography is placed on the cameras lenses to create a star look effect form any source of light. This is very popular with television game shows and used for portraits to provide a soft overall diffusion. A split field lenses is really a full lenses but only half of it is close-up, it is great for taking a picture of something close-up at the bottom like a small flower or bug in focus. The top of the lenses is just blank or empty and the camera uses its lenses to background in focus, say the mountain in the distance.

Albreht Moy has many photographs for sale at his website.