TAO Safety Requirements
 Japanese / English Last modified 2014/09/03

The following requirements aim to ensure the safety of visitors who work on the TAO project in northern Chile. These are applied to all visitors related to the TAO project in northern Chile.

Contents

 1 Definition of Terms
 2 Requirements before Departure
 3 Vehicle Requirements
 4 Requirements before Going to the Site
 5 Requirements at the Site
 6 Altitude Sickness
 7 Emergency
 References
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1. Definition of Terms

  1. The term"Chajnantor site" means the area from the foot(about 5000m) to the top (about 5600m) of Mt. Chajnantor.
  2. The term"Atacama site" means Puna de Atacama and the surrounding area at about 5000m above sea level.
  3. The term"Site" consists of Chajnantor site and Atacama site.
  4. The term"Northern Chile" means whole region including the area from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama and the site.
Defined term Area
Nothern Chile Site Chajnantor site from the foot to the top of Mt. Chajnantor (about 5000-5600m)
Atacama site Puna de Atacama (about 5000m)
between Calama and San Pedro de Atacama (about 2500m)
San Pedro de Atacama (about 2500m)
between San Pedro de Atacama and Puna de Atacama
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2. Requirements before Departure

  1. The person who will work on the site should have a medical examination in advance.
  2. Prepare an overseas travel accident insurance.
  3. Make reservations of 4-WD rental cars for transportation in northern Chile, if necessary.
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3. Vehicle Requirements

  1. Use the 4-WD car to drive in northern Chile.
  2. Keep the followings in each vehicle.
    1. enough fuel (at least half of full)
    2. two spare tires
    3. chains
    4. transceiver
  3. Go to the site in two cars or more.
  4. Do not drive at night without permission.
  5. other precaution
    1. In case of stack, contact car rental company.
    2. Keep all vehicles on existing roadways.
    3. Keep a clear distance when traveling on a dirt road.
    4. Speed limit is 100 km/h ( 90 km/h after sunset ) on a paved road and is 40 km/h on a dirt road unless signs show otherwise.
    5. The use of seat belts is required of all persons in all site vehicles.
    6. Keep the lights on when you drive cars.
    7. Vehicles going up the site have the right of way preference over vehicles going down.
    8. Heavy equipment has the right of way where the road is not marked.
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4. Requirements before Going to the Site

  1. After arriving at San Pedro de Atacama, take a rest for more than half a day without any work at all .
  2. Before going up the site, stay at least one night at San Pedro de Atacama or Calama etc. at about 2500m above sea level.
  3. Carry the followings.
    1. satellite telephone
    2. drinking water
    3. oxygen tank
    4. pulse oxygen meter
    5. winter coat
  4. If you have the following symptoms before you visit the site, give up going up the site.
    1. symptoms of altitude sickness (see chapter 6)
    2. fever or symptoms of a cold
    3. high blood pressure
    4. lack of sleep
    5. hunger
    6. Injuries which require stopping bleeding
    7. extreme anxiety
  5. Get weather information of the site.
  6. It is prohibited to visit the site for person under the age of 16 years, pregnant women, and person with serious diseases of the heart, etc.
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5. Requirements at the Site

  1. Work with two people or more at the site.
  2. The followings are prohibited at the site.
    1. sleeping
    2. drinking alcohol
    3. Excessive smoking
    4. Expose eyes and skin to sunlight for a long time.
    5. Take away anything from the site without prior permission.
    6. Go off the road.( There could be landslides or landmines. )
  3. Working hours on each site is restricted as below.

    Upper limit for the duration of stay
    Atacama site
    (including the duration of stay on Chajnantor site)    		 Chajnantor site
    On the __th day
    from the start date of work    		 1 4 hours 2 hours
    2 6 hours 4 hours
    3 - 7 8 hours 6 hours
    8 - 10 hours 8 hours

  4. During your visit to the site, contact the headquarters based at Institute of Astronomy at Mitaka every day.
  5. On roads in the ALMA concession, observe the ALMA safety requirements.
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6. Altitude Sickness

  1. Check health condition each other. If necessary, take a rest or go down the mountain.
    If you feel symptoms of the altitude sickness, tell your condition to other members of the group.

    diseases symptom response
    mild symptoms Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)
    1. headache
    2. dizziness
    3. shortness of breath during activity
    4. chest tightness
    5. lack of appetite
    6. sleep disorder
    7. tiredness
    8. nausea
    		mild symptoms :
    Do not ascend any more. Take a rest.
    (If necessary, take medicine for headache.)

    moderate to serious symptoms :
    Move patients to lower altitude immediately
    (If necessary, supply supplemental oxygen.)
    serious symptoms High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) Symptoms include breathlessness that persists after several minutes of rest, cyanosis, difficulty in walking and dry cough that may become bloody.
    Even the person who did not have symptoms of AMS, might develop suddenly.     		Move patients to lower altitude immediately
    (If necessary, supply supplemental oxygen.)
    High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) HACE is a worsening of AMS symptoms. Symptoms include mental confusion, difficulty with balance and coordination and hallucinations. A person with HACE usually cannot walk in a straight line putting heel to toe.

  2. Do not do hard physical labor and dangerous work at the site, arrange heavy equipment if necessary.
  3. Prevention of altitude sickness
    1. Drink plenty of water.
    2. Breathe deeply.
    3. Act slowly.
    4. Measure the amount of oxygen in the blood.
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7. Emergency

  1. In case of trouble
    Contact headquarters and ask for instructions. If necessary, call emergency numbers. If necessary, contact ALMA first aid station.

    San Pedro Urgencia (First aid station) 131 or
    (55)-2851-010
    Carabineros (Police) 133 or
    (55)-2755-283
    Bomberos (Fire Brigade) (55)-2851-074
    Emergencia Cespa (Electricity) 7-6685-185 (mobile)
    7-8784-038(mobile)
    ALMA OSF First aid station (55)-2467-6400 Channel 1 at OSF
    3 from Chajnantor
    AOS First aid station (55)-2467-6532 Channel 3 from Chajnantor
    EMERGENCY (55)-2467-6555 Channel 1 at OSF
    3 from Chajnantor
    Safety Officer on Duty (55)-2467-6409
    (55)-2467-6438
    (55)-2467-6512
    (55)-2467-6497
    Safety Manager (55)-2467-6531
    Security 2-755284
    Satellite Phones AOS
    881622412016

    Safety Officer
    881622412017

    Safety Manager
    881622427616
    * from mobile phone: dial "0" before the phone number (except for 131,133)

  2. In case of fire
    1. If it is possible to control the fire, use a fire extinguisher.
    2. If the fire is out of control, evacuate everybody to the safety area.
    3. Keep radio channels open.
    4. Call the San Pedro fire brigade and San Pedro first aid station (if somebody is hurt).
  3. In case of Lightning
    If lightning approaches, evaquate from the site immediately.
    If it is too late, hide in the nearest safe structure or vehicle.
  4. When the weather at the site turns bad, leave the site immediately.
    Do not stay at the site until the weather gets better.
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References

When we make these requirements, we refer to the safety requirements of ALMA, APEX and SUBARU telescope, etc.