Potential Occupational Health And Safety Risks

5.4.7Confined space entry

5.4.8Motor vehicle safety

• 
  Access to the sites was sometime precarious and dangerous;
  
• 
  The fall protection along the masts was insufficient: the cable lines had no fixtures, the ladders along the towers and masts had no secondary protection;
  
• 
  Workers were wearing no PPE during maintenance operations;
  
• 
  Work at elevation was done without harness or other PPE;
  
• 
  Hazardous material (gasoline) was stored without label or secondary containment;
  
• 
  There was a general disregard of basic safety measures: an engine in one site was plugged into a metal ladder; diesel was stored and managed with no precautionary measures;
  
• 
  There were no signs indicating the presence of possible health and safety hazards;
  
• 
  Workers receive no training or information on the possible risks of exposure to EMF; and
  
• 
  There was waste in and around the site in several locations.
  

The conditions contained in the bidding documents prepared by the ICE for the providers require the latter to comply with the existing national legislation and regulations, in particular the Law on OHS. In these bidding documents supervision during construction works and maintenance falls within the responsibility of the providers of services. The ICE retains however an overall supervising role in ensuring that OHS regulations and best practices are followed. The major issue related to OHS seems to be non-compliance with the existing laws and regulations by the ICE providers and sub-contractors’ workers.

Table 5.3 Potential Occupational Health and Safety Hazards

Issue	Impact	Project Phase
		Construction works	Operation and Maintenance
Contingencies	Eventual accidents or natural disasters causing emergency contingencies	* *	* *
Electrical safety	Contact with live power lines	* *	* *
Electromagnetic fields	Higher exposure to EMF due to working in proximity to electric power lines	*	*
Optical fiber safety	Risk of permanent eye damage due to exposure to laser light during cable connection and inspection activities	* *	*
	Microscopic glass fiber shards that can penetrate human tissue through skin or eyes, or by ingestion or inhalation.	* *	*
	Risk of fire due to the presence of flammable materials in high-powered laser installation areas.	* *
Elevated and overhead work	Physical hazard due to the potential for falling objects.	* *	*
Fall protection	Risk of fall when working at elevation during construction, maintenance, and operation activities.	* *	*
Confined space entry	Underground fixed line infrastructure in urban areas	*
Motor vehicle safety	Frequent use of ground transportation for maintenance activities increases risk of car accident.	*	*

Note:

* * * Major impact

* * Minor impact

* Minimal impact

√ Positive impact
The potential occupational health and safety impacts associated with the project are minimal to minor. They are likely to occur mainly during the construction works. The major issue related to OHS to date seems to be the non-compliance of the ICE providers and sub-contractors’ workers with the existing laws and regulations.

Directory: curated
curated -> Concept stage
curated -> Concept stage
curated -> Republic of Côte d'Ivoire Urbanization Review
curated -> Report No: aus11011 Central America
curated -> Report No. 94474-pk fiscal Disaster Risk Assessment Options for Consideration
curated -> Environment Impact Assessment For Jiangxi Shangrao Sanqingshan Airport Beijing Guohuantiandi Environmental Technology Development Center. Ltd. Oct. 2012 Content
curated -> Growth through Innovation An Industrial Strategy for Shanghai By Shahid Yusuf Kaoru Nabeshima April 22nd, 2009
curated -> Report No: 70178. People's Republic of China
curated -> Making Nutrition Policy Central to Development Understanding the Political and Institutional Conditions for Policy Change Case Study of the Political Economy of Nutrition Policies in Ethiopia Prepared By

Download 0.6 Mb.

Share with your friends: