activated one of the upgrade station, instant death?

Activate them from a safe stand off distance (standing as far away as possible) if its a buff smoke it releases, jump into it, if not you should be far enough away to not die. I've used this method now on at least 20 of them and have yet to die, and they are not always buffs that came at me. You've got several seconds to decide if its a buff based off the smoke it lets out, and jump into it.

 

I have had mixed results with these. Popping one for a glow buff in the night can be really helpful, same goes with speed vs. a mini-boss.

Tip: edge up to these things until you are close and when you hover your mouse it lights up (light any other interactive thing in this game). Provided you are right at the edge you can activate with E and escape the range of the explosion/poison for the most part. Has been very effective for me.

 

90% dying
10% useless buff.