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?’”

  •  jarfil   ( @jarfil@beehaw.org ) 
    11•4 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.