One of the more horrible parts of following the national news is finding out the exotic ways one can meet their end.
For example, last week, ammonia leaked out of the cooling equipment in the Fernie, B.C. arena, killing three and requiring 95 people to evacuate.
Yet it’s important to remember that accidents like this are rare, as rink cooling systems are constantly maintained and inspected by trained professionals.
No, it’s not the rink that feeds a fear of dying by ammonia poisoning. It’s actually the idea of one of the trucks full of anhydrous ammonia, used for fertilizer, crashing in the middle of town that does that for me.
And that is rare compared to the other things that can kill you.
Traffic accidents commonly kill and yet we think nothing about climbing into a car everyday.
Flu season is approaching and that can kill somebody if they have health problems or if the strain is particularly strong.
The fact is, there’s lots of things that could kill us – and most of them are a lot less exotic than an ammonia leak.
Yes, it’s worth being careful when you handle those materials – but it’s also worth keeping in mind that maybe some effort should be invested in preventing – as much as possible – the more common things that can bring us harm.
After all, they’re probably more likely to get us in the end.
