tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post3639331327235168517..comments2024-03-06T07:06:38.928-08:00Comments on JSBlog - Journal of a Southern Bookreader: Going with the flowRay Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-43941673778521856602009-07-13T04:56:56.221-07:002009-07-13T04:56:56.221-07:00I have a video series that is about what's und...I have a video series that is about what's under many major cities, and they have a feature on London's "Lost Rivers" complete with lots of CG maps that show the historical process of enclosing, burying them and rerouting them. While watching it, what worried me was, when the narrator and one of the London "flushers" (they really call them that) went down into one of the big tunnel/rivers, it was constructed out of bricks. It was large enough for both men to walk through with only a slight stoop, and the bricks were not supported by anything. The "flusher" insisted that, because it was an arch, it was stable, but it doesn't <em>look</em> stable -- the bricks are so small (though the brickwork was lovely).<br><br>The other thing -- that may have been simple over-caution -- was that the "flusher" warned the narrator, as they suited up (full body suits and face masks (that they didn't wear)) to go down into the tunnel, that there were both very flammable gases, and very toxic gases down there. If so, why aren't there explosions and toxic gas leaks? (The liquid in the tunnels appeared to be mostly sewage). In a different segment of this series, the narrator and a guide went into the water tunnels under Rome without any protective gear beyond a tall pair of waders.Julie Heywardhttp://unrealnature.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-90845336876431453032009-07-13T08:47:26.615-07:002009-07-13T08:47:26.615-07:00They're fascinating but scary: it must have be...They're fascinating but scary: it must have been amazing to walk these places before they were in action (some of the big junctions are positively <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Piranesi" rel="nofollow">Piranesi</a>).<br><br><i>If so, why aren't there explosions and toxic gas leaks?</i><br><br>As to that: there are! I wouldn't know the stats, but Google <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&q=sewer+explosion&btnG=Search&meta=" rel="nofollow">sewer explosion</a> and <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&q=died+leak+toxic+sewer+gas&btnG=Search&meta=" rel="nofollow">died leak toxic sewer gas</a>. And deaths of workers in the sewers aren't uncommon.Ray Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.com