Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: FALLING

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to radio frequency burns to the hands and arms, as well as the potential of discharging sparks that could cause a "startle reaction" and resulting fall or dropping of a tool: a) Longshoremen were exposed to these hazards while working on and around vessels at Terminal 5, Port of Seattle, such as the "Westwood Belinda". The preferred method of abatement of the hazard would be the relocation (anticipated to be accomplished in the next few years) of the radio transmitting towers which are causing the problem. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct the hazard in the interim are: The utilization of certain work practices and employee training to include grounding of the container spreader beam before workers make contact with it. Establishing a ground may be accomplished using a variety of means. It may be sufficient to simply hang an extended chain from the spreader beam, which will make contact with ground before the employees contact the beam. A more definite ground could be achieved by actually applying a grounding cable to the container spreader beam or basket each time the beam comes back to load or unload. Additionally, all employees, including maintenance employees, should be instructed not to come into contact with the spreader beams until the load has been placed on the ground or deck, thus grounding out prior to employee contact. Personal protective equipment: In addition to the fleece-lined rubber gloves, workers should wear long-sleeved shirts, and safety glasses in addition to their hard hats to prevent the cable from possible contacting the face and eyes. The installation of some type of insulating material between the D-ring of the spreader beam and the hook on the cone baskets so as to break the current flow between them. Thereby eliminating the RF burn hazard resulting from making contact with the cone basket.