One of the worst cases of employee abuse that I witnessed in the workplace was a toxic manager holding employees captive in a remote location against their will to complete a project that was behind schedule. It was verging on kidnapping the employees.

I had worked at Mauna Kea from the age of 31 to 36. By the time I left, I had developed a wide range of health issues. At the age of 45 my biological systems had collapsed so much that I became disabled by mental and physical illness.

When you peel back the glamorous veneer of the astronaut, you find that it is a really dangerous and biologically toxic job.

After telling many doctors that I have mercury poisoning from working with mercury systems, I have never been referred to a specialist in the toxicology of mercury.

Despite being required to work on mercury systems, the management team never sent me on an industry recognized mercury training course and I ended up with nasty mercury poisoning.

Hello high altitude astronomy, hello changing gender.

I consider myself fortunate that I had only a decade of exposure to the biologically toxic field of high altitude astronomy.

If the government disability system or workers compensation system discovers that the company involved has been breaking numerous Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) laws, is it legally required to report it to OSHA?

I often tell people that I have radiation sickness to see how they react.