A veritable army of young men have come from across the country to work on Alberta’s oil rigs.

With the long hours and heavy work comes good money – and a variety of ways to spend it.

But in an industry with heavy machinery and little oversight, the risk of injury and death goes up with every sleepless night and drug consumed.

I worked briefly on the rigs in the winter 2007, and filed this half-hour documentary for CBC Radio.