usap safety and health gwendolyn m. adams associate program manager for safety and health nsf/office...
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USAP Safety and Health
Gwendolyn M. Adams
Associate Program Manager
for Safety and Health NSF/Office of Polar Programs
Polar Research Support SectionPolar Research Support Section
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS• USAP Policies• Proposal Preparation• Defining Support Requirements• Deployment Process• “On-ice” Activities
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
POLICIES• Travel to Antarctica is inherently risky• USAP establishes policies to help mitigate those
risks• Most USAP Requirements are consistent with
Institutional Programs– General laboratory safety
– OSHA-type programs
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
POLICIES (Cont’d)
• Some USAP Requirements are Unique– mountaineering/survival skills for remote field
parties– underwater diving
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
PROPOSAL PREPARATION
• Complete “Safety and Health” checklist• Identify “field requirements”• Objective is to identify Safety and Health risks or
unusual support requirements early– Subsequent support planning is based on responses
to above– Does not influence grant award decisions
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
DEFINING SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS
PROPOSAL STAGE:• Identify your needs
– Hazardous materials--waste management
– Remote field work (mountaineering skills)
– Underwater diving
– Use of explosives
– Use of radioisotopes
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
DEFINING SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS
AWARD STAGE: • USAP Support Contractor Will Appoint a Coordinator to
Guide and Assist PI
• Based on Operational Requirements Worksheet:– Rad authorization request, if using radioisotopes– Diving authorization request, if conducting
underwater diving, – Details on waste streams, if using hazardous
materials, – Additional specifics on remote field work
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
DEPLOYMENT PROCESS• PRE-DEPLOYMENT ACTIVITIES
– Finalize “research support plan”
– Medical clearance required for all personnel traveling to Antarctica
– NSF establishes the medical clearance criteria • Difference between summer and winter deployment
criteria• RPSC applies the criteria
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
DEPLOYMENT PROCESS (Cont’d)– RPSC sends Deployment “packet” to all deploying
personnel• Typically sent out ~May prior to ~October
deployment
• Packet includes medical and dental exams
– Personnel wintering over must also pass a psychological examination
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
DEPLOYMENT PROCESS (Cont’d)– Traveler completes the packet and returns to RPSC for
medical and dental qualifications determination (PQ/NPQ)
– Grant pays for exams, not “repairs”
– Some people may not qualify, so PI needs to have alternates identified
– If collaborating with international scientists, some reciprocity between other national programs
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
“ON-ICE” ACTIVITIES
• USAP provides all “on-ice” medical care• USAP operates medical clinics at 3 stations and
dispensaries on two Research Vessels• Medical capabilities are limited, so Program needs
to insure “healthy” population
23 – 24 August 2004 U.S. Antarctic Program, New Investigators workshop
USAP Safety and Health
“ON-ICE” ACTIVITIES (Cont’d)
• Specified training requirements– remote field work.... “Snow School”
– waste management
– recreational safety
– helo, aircraft safety
• Follow “house rules”
– Lab facilities “Codes of Conduct”
– Research Vessels
– Remote field work (e.g., radio checks
USAP Safety and HealthBOTTOM LINE
• KEEP IN THE FRONT OF YOUR MIND, “THIS CONTINENT IS DANGEROUS”
• RISKS CAN BE MITIGATED• YOU ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOUR
WORST ENEMY– STAY VIGILANT– DON’T BE A HERO– READ THE MANUALS, LISTEN TO THE
RECTORIC– FOLLOW THE RULES
• COME BACK ALIVE, HEALTHY, AND IN ONE PIECE