6/8/07 - Dan Snyder's Summer In Alaska

Hello To All !

Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you all know that I am doing well here in the cold and lonely state of Alaska! No, really it is quite a blessing to be where I am right now and doing the things that I am doing.

I have been in Alaska now for the past three weeks. I started work last Tuesday in downtown Anchorage at the ConocoPhillips building (largest building in Anchorage). From Tuesday to Friday I engaged in some rigorous training that pretty much included every safety aspect I have covered in school so far on a basic level. I had to attend a NSTC (North Slope Training Council) training session where I received certification to travel to the North Slope.

I also attended a few different safety audits with the ConocoPhillips and British Petroleum staff at their outsourced facilities which have been contracted to build generators and huge equipment that I couldn't even begin telling you what their purpose is.  All in all, everything has been amazing so far.

I am currently in a camp called Kuparuk, which is at the top of Alaska near Prudhoe Bay/Barrow (Mapquest Location).  Its about 30 degrees and is also light 24 hours a day.  My work schedule is pretty nice. Seven days on (12hrs days), and then seven days off to travel and do my thing. Conoco and BP have their own 737 airplane that flies from Anchorage to Kuparuk and other camps on the north slope several times a day. I never thought I would be flying to my job every other week.

The camp here is nothing short of amazing and strange all at the same time. Its miles away from anything, but yet has everything as one should assume I guess. The housing is set up like dorms/hotels, but the rooms are even smaller. I have Internet, TV and cell service somehow! In the housing building you can also find all the free food in the world you could ask for as well as a movie theater, game rooms, pool tables, ping pong, foosball, weight rooms, aerobic rooms, racquetball courts, basketball court, archery and shooting range.

I am working with the IH group, and my job title is "Summer Industrial Hygienist". I will be doing some monitoring for H2S as well as performing ETE (Exposure Task Evaluations) on production operators, drill site operators, gas/NGL section operators, and water flood/topping plant operators. While performing my duties, the outermost layer has to be fire retardant. In saying that, I have a $3,000 worth of Arctic gear that i get to wear around !

Dan Snyder
IUP Student-Athlete