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The first week I came to live in Guatemala from the USA 3 brothers from a nearby village dies of asphyxiation at the bottom of a hand dug well which had a gener

The first week I came to live in Guatemala from the USA 3 brothers from a nearby village dies of asphyxiation at the bottom of a hand dug well which had a generator running too close up above. Don't risk it. Confined spaces are dangerous.

b112 3y ago
This is terrible, but the same thing can happen in a basement, and even has happened in low laying areas of land. Would you suggest we stop digging basements? There are far more issues with just walking outside, lightning strikes hitting people, are more common.
- praptak 3y ago
  The biggest risk of construction comes from handling the concrete rings. I haven't heard of a suffocation accident. These are much more common when people maintain their sanitation tanks.
- jeffrallen 3y ago
  I'm going to declare a new law, a la Bettredge's Law: "When a small probability is claimed, without evidence, to be less than that of death by lightening strikes, it is safe to assume the small probability is in fact higher than the risk of death by lightening strikes". Find me the evidence and I'll admit that my new law is invalid. :)
  - InitialLastName 3y ago
    I don't need evidence to know that the odds of casualties falling into a modern well (that is a few inches in diameter) such as the one being drilled here are less than being hit by lightning (assuming lightning is possible). I won't rule out the possibility of an ankle sprain.
praptak 3y ago
I think it will solve itself as people move to steel pipes which are generally less labor intensive to drill. They also eliminate the danger of falling into the well.
msrenee 3y ago
These wells are a few inches across. There's no risk of falling in.
- nemetroid 3y ago
  You are responding in a comment chain about hand-dug wells in Poland, which are significantly wider.
bluGill 3y ago
I have a large well for my water (machine bored - wells here have terrible recovery), when the pump went out a few years back I looked down the hole and decided no way will I climb down there. I bought a pump and used hoses and extension cords to lower it into the well from above, then a week latter hired someone to come out and do the proper install. They had the proper safety gear so they couldn't fall down the hole. More importantly they knew how to use the - I know where to buy the gear, but that is one case where improper usage will kill you before you find out you were wrong.

b112 3y ago

This is terrible, but the same thing can happen in a basement, and even has happened in low laying areas of land. Would you suggest we stop digging basements? There are far more issues with just walking outside, lightning strikes hitting people, are more common.

praptak 3y ago
The biggest risk of construction comes from handling the concrete rings. I haven't heard of a suffocation accident. These are much more common when people maintain their sanitation tanks.
jeffrallen 3y ago
I'm going to declare a new law, a la Bettredge's Law: "When a small probability is claimed, without evidence, to be less than that of death by lightening strikes, it is safe to assume the small probability is in fact higher than the risk of death by lightening strikes". Find me the evidence and I'll admit that my new law is invalid. :)
- InitialLastName 3y ago
  I don't need evidence to know that the odds of casualties falling into a modern well (that is a few inches in diameter) such as the one being drilled here are less than being hit by lightning (assuming lightning is possible). I won't rule out the possibility of an ankle sprain.

praptak 3y ago

I think it will solve itself as people move to steel pipes which are generally less labor intensive to drill. They also eliminate the danger of falling into the well.

msrenee 3y ago

These wells are a few inches across. There's no risk of falling in.

nemetroid 3y ago
You are responding in a comment chain about hand-dug wells in Poland, which are significantly wider.

bluGill 3y ago

I have a large well for my water (machine bored - wells here have terrible recovery), when the pump went out a few years back I looked down the hole and decided no way will I climb down there. I bought a pump and used hoses and extension cords to lower it into the well from above, then a week latter hired someone to come out and do the proper install. They had the proper safety gear so they couldn't fall down the hole. More importantly they knew how to use the - I know where to buy the gear, but that is one case where improper usage will kill you before you find out you were wrong.