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stay time is calculated, the CHENG gives the report to the Medical Officer and the CO.
The watch-standing duration will be adjusted to achieve those recommendations. As
Medical Officer, you make any additional health recommendations to the Commanding
Officer that you feel necessary.
Regulations state that once the stay time is below four hours (a normal watch-standing
period) a survey should be repeated at the shortest stay time interval calculated. If the
stay time is below two hours, a rest period of twice the stay time is indicated, never
greater than four hours at a time. Thus, if the stay time were calculated to be one hour,
the rest time, in a cool area (room temperature) would be two hours. When stay times
are very short, watch out for heat-stressing the surveyors as they run back and forth to
take readings.
Engineers generally will perform a repeat survey when they change the operating
speeds or conditions of the plant, or when the ambient air temperature falls and the
space cools significantly. Basically, they do that to get their watch increased to four
hours whenever possible.
If you are fortunate enough to have a preventive medicine technician aboard, the heat
stress program should be up to snuff, and you will not have problems. Most ships,
however, will only have a corpsman trained in a short school in how to use the WBGT
index. In that case, personally check the heat stress procedures to ensure that all
guidelines are followed. Keep a record of all heat stress tests performed throughout the
year; you are required to keep these on file and will need them for SURFLANT/PAC
inspections. Heat stress tests must be kept for one year, but inspectors love seeing two
years worth of readings.
Many Engineering Departments, COs, and XOs feel that Engineering is responsible for
the actual readings in Engineering spaces, but that the Medical Department is
responsible for the rest of the ship as well as monitoring what is done in the Engineering
spaces. The instruction is ambiguous enough to leave many points open to
interpretation by any given reader.
However, Medical Department involvement with the program does include more than
monitoring. Medical can best serve the Engineers by coming down (every hour if
needed) to clinically ensure that personnel are not being physically exhausted by the
environment. The Engineers easily take the readings, but it is desirable for a medically
trained person to tell them if someone is being heat stressed beyond their limit. Current
instructions do not provide clear tasking for this and presently it is a moot point. This is
generally not a problem in most Engineering plants, since the Engineering inspectors
pay attention to the heat stress program and Engineers work hard to try to prevent heat
stress casualties. Even if Engineers cannot comply fully with stay times due to manning
constraints, they do rotate personnel to cooler areas for those down times and force
them to drink fluids.
Periodically inspect areas at risk to be sure thermometers actually exist and are in place.
Thermometers should be placed in the area where personnel stand watch and perform
most of their work, not in the hottest areas. Chilled water fountains that work properly
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should be provided for personnel in heat stress environments. Exhaust hoods and
ventilating vents for cool air are important and should be properly maintained.
A swinging bulb psychrometer should be available to act as a backup if the WBGT
meters fail (even though no longer technically legal). Be sure all personnel involved are
familiar with its use. Check the latest heat stress survey conducted by the IH to identify
heat stress areas. Anytime a ship goes into the shipyard, it should have a repeat survey
performed to document any changes, especially when extensive engineering work has
been done.
Anytime a heat casualty occurs, Medical is required to report it on a NAVMED 6500/1
form. Further details on these programs can be found in OPNAVINST 5100.20C and
TYCOM instructions. Each ship should also have an instruction governing heat stress.
Refer to it, especially if you wish to update it with new instructions. Always make sure
the ship s instruction refers to current, not outdated, instructions. The information will be
quite different in many cases.
Finally, what do Engineering inspectors look for? For the heat stress program, be able
to show them at least one year of heat stress tests for Engineering, the laundry, and the
scullery. Make sure the heat stress logs in the laundry and scullery are complete and
that you have the corresponding heat stress test for all dry bulb temps over 100F. Have
your working, calibrated WBGT meter with its recharger available, and show them the
operating manual. Be able to produce the lesson topic guides and rosters for heat
stress training done for Engineering personnel and WBGT training done for the IC-men.
Also have the file of heat stress casualty reports available, if you had any.
In addition, make sure you have all applicable ship s instructions, BUMED,
SURFLANT/PAC, and OPNAV, flagged for easy demonstration if needed. If all of the
above is out and waiting for the inspectors, they will be overwhelmed by your efficiency,
and the CHENG will love you and will get the Engineering Department up for
audiograms, shots, etc.
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Chapter 16, SAFETY PROGRAMS
In addition to being czar of trash, you are also the ship s resident lord of safety. With
that title (something akin to Smokey the Bear) comes the responsibility of making sure
that the crew lives and works in a secure environment and follows good safety
guidelines. A number of specific programs directly related to the occupational health
field include asbestos control, heat stress, and hearing conservation. Some of these
have already been mentioned but more details follow in the upcoming pages.
Safety is an area that entails everything from making sure every deck has a nonskid
surface to the proper handling of dangerous chemicals. Ships are floating industrial
complexes. There are safety hazards at every bulkhead. We will not outline every
hazard but instead present a few topics you need to know. References are included to
help you find more detailed information.
Safety is a shipwide responsibility. Although the Captain has the ultimate responsibility,
a Safety Committee (composed of departmental safety officers, usually senior enlisted,
and the Safety Officer) and a Safety Council (composed of the department heads and
Safety Officer) are appointed to identify safety hazards and correct them. As Medical
Officer, you will serve on the council. The Safety Officer, who acts as head of the
council, is usually an 0-3 department head. On tenders and CVs, the Safety Officer will
be an Industrial Hygienist. Work closely with the Safety Officer for maximum impact on
safety practices.
Your direct responsibilities, once again, are those of monitor and inspector. Before you
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