RESTRICTED - NT//COM//MED
NANOTRASEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Long Term Health Effects of Plasma Exposure
Published by: Associate Rhyll NTMail: r.rhyll@odysseus!ntri!centcom!ntnet
PLASMA: A marvellous material with many immediately obvious
properties: Bright purple, highly combustible, and -- as
anyone who has handled a bar of it at room temperature can
attest -- misleadingly named.
Years of NanoTrasen research and development -- which you
and your department may have directly had a hand in -- have
teased out a variety of its remarkable properties; it is well
known for its tensile strength benefits it can bring to
alloyed materials, its fantastic capacity for carrying heat,
and -- above all -- its immediate toxic effects on organic
life forms. These properties have made Plasma both incredibly
profitable, and incredibly useful in industry!
However, not all of the properties of Plasma are so
encouraging; though the economic and scientific benefits
clearly outweigh the downsides, when appropriate safety
measures are taken during its use.
Health Effects - Short Term
The short term health effects of ingesting Plasma are
well-known, having been studied in depth both in the research
institute and due to accidental exposures in the field.
Primarily, it acts as a powerful neurotoxin, disrupting cell
activity throughout the victim's body. Existing equipment is
easily capable of detecting such exposure, and thanks to the
wealth of knowledge at hand, treatment is generally successful
using standard toxin kits as found onboard all NanoTrasen
facilities.
Furthermore, exposure is easy to avoid, by use of widely
available breathing apparatus and oxygen supplies, again
found aboard all NT facilities.
Health Effects - Long Term
Less well-understood are the longer term effects of
exposure to Plasma. Research in this field is still very
much ongoing, limited by ethical concerns and the safety of
our crewmembers being our number 1 priority.
Early signs, however, point to increased stress
and likelihood of sudden mood-swings; the intensity of these
effects roughly correlating with a crewmember's length of
service, but some crewmembers are more susceptible to its
effects than others.
Preliminary modelling estimates anywhere between 10% to 35%
of crewmembers, serving for more than a month, reporting
elevated stress levels and mental fatigue.
A confounding factor in these studies is that life in the
Spinward Periphery is one of great risk and accompanying high
stress; particularly in the high-pressure environments of
asteroid mining, and research out on the edge human
knowledge.
Despite the best efforts of the company, this is still a
dangerous role in dangerous locations; but these great
risks, and the great rewards that come with them, attract
"rough and ready" individuals who are willing to take on
such difficult jobs, who may not necessarily be as willing
to admit that they need help; and this may mask the early
warning signs of long-term Plasma exposure.
No effectiveness has yet been noted in the use of Mannitol
or Neurine to reverse the action of Plasma on the nervous
system, but simple mindfulness exercises have proven
incredibly useful. By being aware of the changes in their
behaviour, affected workers can -- with help -- help reduce
the wear and tear on their nerves.
To this end, we recommend:
- Supplying, and ensure correct training in the
use of, appropriate PPE to all workers involved in the mining
and processing of Plasma
- Continual air-quality monitoring, and increased scrubbing measures where
contamination is more than trace levels.
- Rotating at-risk crew-members to lower-stress roles on a frequent
basis, where scheduling and crewing levels permit.
- Ensuring crew-members attend regular mental health checkups with
the facility's psychiatrist, where scheduling and crewing levels permit.
The risks involved in the extraction, processing, and use
of Plasma are managable; by following these steps, we can
ensure a safe and healthy future where NanoTrasen leads the
way in mining and processing Plasma for industrial and medical
purposes.
Here's to a safe and prosperous future, powered by Plasma!
Assoc. R. Rhyll
Director - Medical Research - NanoTrasen Research
Institute
SECRET - NT//COM//MED
NANOTRASEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Published by: Associate Rhyll NTMail: r.rhyll@odysseus!ntri!centcom!ntnet
Years of research and development in extraction, processing,
and use of Plasma -- NanoTrasen's "Wonder Material"
have uncovered some deeply concerning effects of the substance
on organic life-forms.
Short-term exposure to high concentrations of airborne Plasma
is well-known to have injurious effects on the body, disrupting
cellular activity and interfering with correct nervous system
function. It is not, however, immediately fatal; and a seemingly
complete recovery can be made by an exposed subject when
supplied with uncontaminated breathing air, and treated with
standard toxin response first-aid kits as is normal operating
procedure aboard NanoTrasen facilities.
However, longer term exposure to trace amounts of airborne
Plasma — such as is found in many facilities where mining
and processing of Plasma is performed, or where leaks of gaseous
Plasma from fuel or chemical plant pipework occur — is
much more subtly harmful.
Research into these long term exposure effects are still
ongoing, and the state of the art is constantly being updated,
but clear patterns are emerging that reveal that affected
individuals suffer from a neurological decay — decreased
attention span, violent mood swings, and degraded ability to
feel empathy for others — that gradually worsens with
continued exposure.
Intensity of these effects also varies depending on the
individual, and the level of contamination in the
atmosphere. Preliminary modelling estimates between 10 to 35% of
crewmembers and staff, serving for more than a month, will show
mild signs of decay.
Current estimates reach as high as 80% of crewmembers —
most concerningly, including Command staff who
were not entering highly-contaminated
processing areas, but were breathing trace
amounts of Plasma from the station's air distribution network
— showing minor decay after a year in a contaminated
environment.
Regular air-testing has revealed that once Plasma has been
released into the atmosphere of a facility, it is exceedingly
difficult — if not impossible — to remove all traces
of it; and even these trace amounts cause gradually-accumulating
damage; which at this point, appears to be highly resistant to
treatment with Mannitol or Neurine.
However, the majority of the cases
encountered thus-far are mild, and while they cannot be treated
with our existing healthcare products, mindfulness exercises and
psychiatric care have proven to mitigate the effects to a level
that is indistinguishable from that caused by the regular
high-stress environment that these workers immerse themselves
in. It is hoped that further development will result in a more
lasting treatment, but until such time, the Institute
recommends:
- Not making the existence of these
effects public, to avoid additional stress, and prevent the
disruption of ongoing research efforts.
- Supply, and ensure adequate training in the correct use
of, appropriate PPE to all workers involved in the
extraction and processing of Plasma
- Continual monitoring of contamination levels
- Rotating the most at-risk crew-members to
low-contamination areas, with appropriate job reassignments
as necessary, where scheduling and available crewing levels
permit.
- Regular mental health check-ups of crew-members, and
— where scheduling and available crewing levels permit
— frequent periods of rest and relaxation.
- Where crew-members (especially staff such as department
heads or command staff) appear to be exhibiting more
irrational behaviour, or signs of excessive stress, than
would be expected under normal circumstances, please arrange
to have them contact stress-survey@ntri!centcom!ntnet for a
set of tests and exercises to perform when possible. It is
important that we understand how widespread the potential
decay is, and how it may affect operational readiness.
We believe that the risks are manageable by following these
steps; and by doing so, we can continue mining and processing
Plasma safely. Plasma is a substance to be treated with
respect, and while our leading position in the field gives us
significant advantages in safe production techniques, we must
always be mindful of where our processes can be improved.
Here's to a safe and prosperous future, powered by
Plasma!
Assoc. R. Rhyll
Director - Medical Research - NanoTrasen Research
Institute