DEFENDING THE DEADLIEST JOB IN AMERICA
Poor Safety Meets Molten Enamel Nothing Cold About
These Refrigerators Fourth of July Special —
Fun Facts About the Secret Service
If you don’t know what enamel is, you’ve probably seen it around: It’s the colorful, protective coating that covers tiles and all kinds of fancy cookware. But how does it get on to things? For that, you need heat — enough to melt enamel into a workable, molten-hot liquid. It’s dangerous stuff to work with, which means facilities need to provide extensive training, personal protective equipment, and proper maintenance.
Did you know four presidents of the United States of America have been assassinated while in office? It’s an ironic twist of fate that President Lincoln signed the law creating the Secret Service on the day of his assassination.
The Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, had not met its duty in any of those three areas when Harry Adams, an employee, was working for them in the early 1900s. The company used enamel to line the inside of its refrigerators in a process that involved introducing molten enamel to water, a hardening reaction that had a high potential for disaster. And disaster struck in November 1906 when, in the course of Adams’ normal duties, the holding tank full of molten enamel exploded while he operated it at close distance — at the instruction of his foreman who was overseeing the operation. It’s a miracle that Adams wasn’t killed, although he lived in severe pain for the rest of his life. His employer attempted to dodge all responsibility, and Adams was forced into the courts to get justice. As you can imagine, the judicial
However, back then, they wouldn’t have been able to prevent the
tragic event from occurring. Originally, the Secret Service was created to identify
counterfeit money instead of protecting our presidents. In honor of the Fourth of July, let's dive into the fascinating history of the Secret Service and how they protect those in power. THE SERIOUS PROBLEM OF COUNTERFEIT MONEY Counterfeit money might seem like a relatively small concern compared to protecting the U.S. presidents and their families. However, in the final days of the American Civil War, it was estimated that nearly half of circulating U.S. currency was fake. Imagine half of your family’s money being counterfeit, especially after a civil war. It was a huge threat to the economy. The Department of Treasury established the Secret Service in 1865 to not only prevent fraudulent banknotes but also police other federal crimes like bootlegging, mail theft, and smuggling. Many of these responsibilities passed on to the FBI when it was established in 1908, but white-collar crimes in the financial and banking sector, including cybercrime, remain in the Secret Service’s purview. PROTECTING THE PRESIDENTS — AND THE BIGGEST NATIONAL EVENTS Following the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley, Secret Service agents were assigned as security detail to presidents full time. Then, after presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed in 1968, agents began protecting presidential and vice presidential candidates as well. Today, all presidents and their immediate families, as well as major presidential and vice presidential candidates within 120 days of a general election, receive protection from the Secret Service. There are even occasions such as massive public gatherings (the Super Bowl) or major political events (party conventions or the inauguration) that may be designated National Special Security Events, and the Secret Service will secure the event and the surrounding airspace. While enjoying your Fourth of July celebration, feel free to pass around these awesome facts about one of America’s coolest government operations.
system took note of the incident and, after examining everything in detail, came to some groundbreaking conclusions, at least for the day.
The chief one was that Adams’ injury could not have been foreseen by an average person, because although he had experience, he lacked understanding of the materials he was working with — an understanding that his employer had not provided. Molten enamel has similar properties to lava, and an exploding tank full of the stuff is not a hazard anyone should have to deal with in the workplace. The shockwaves of Adams’ near-fatal injury have reverberated for over a century now and provide valuable precedence when it comes to the duty employers have to their employees, whether that person has experience or not, which is why even today, when we attend ongoing, yearly safety training, we benefit from the hard lessons learned in Adams v. Grand Rapids Refrigerator .
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