The Boring Company’s tiny Las Vegas Loop is all that’s come of Musk’s promises to build superfast mass-transit “hyperloops.” Workers say its tunnels are packed with chemical sludge.

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The [tunnel’s] accelerants cure the grout that seals the tunnel’s concrete supports, helping the grout set properly and protecting the work against cracks and other deterioration. They also seriously burn exposed human skin. At the Encore dig site, such burns became almost routine, workers there told Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An investigation by the state OSHA, which Bloomberg Businessweek has obtained via a freedom of information request, describes workers being scarred permanently on their arms and legs. According to the investigation, at least one employee took a direct hit to the face. In an interview with Businessweek, one of the tunnel workers recalls the feeling of exposure to the chemicals: “You’d be like, ‘Why am I on fire?’”

  •  frog 🐸   ( @frog@beehaw.org ) English
    28•7 months ago

    I wasn’t overly familiar with this project, but now that I’ve read up on it… what in the actual fuck? You could offer me the entirety of Elon Musk’s hoard wealth and it would still not be enough to convince me to step foot in that claustophobic death trap.

    The thing that really strikes me is that there seems to be very little difference between Musk going “I know how to build transport tunnels better than any of the countless engineers who have built them before!” and that Titan submarine guy going “I know how to build deep sea submersibles better than any of the countless engineers who have built them before!” And it seems likely that Musk’s death trap will have a similar ending, only Musk won’t be inside it at the time. Techbros seem incredibly unwilling to consider that there are often reasons why things are built the way they are.

    •  jarfil   ( @jarfil@beehaw.org ) 
      11•7 months ago

      You have to look at the bigger picture: Musk’s “I know how to build a colony on Mars better than anyone!”

      That requires:

      • SpaceX: cheap reusable rockets (done)
      • StarLink: planet-wide communication network (almost done)
      • SpaceX: mass human space transport (in progress)
      • Boring: tunnels for the colony (in progress)
      • Tesla: non-fossil fuel cars, like electric (done)
      • Hyperloop: transport in a low density atmosphere (proof of concept, good enough)
      • Neuralink: robot capable of up to brain surgery (in progress)
      • Square Roots: indoor farming (done, by Elon’s brother)
      • [Name pending]: indentured labour volunteers willing to work for the privilege (tons of applicants already)

      There are some other details missing, and maybe there are other projects I’m not aware of, but the general plan is pretty clear.