SAFETY--Cableways and Other Field Installations


                                         December 5, 1968

WATER RESOURCES DIVISION MEMORANDUM NO. 69.82


To:       Regional Hydrologists and District Chiefs, WRD

From:     Assistant Chief, Administraiton & Technical Services, WRD

Subject:  SAFETY--Cableways and Other Field Installations

On November 16 an ll-year old girl climbing an access ladder on one of our
cableway structures fell 45 feet to her death.  The newspaper article
describing the accident commented "The tower has a ladder from the ground to
the platform at the top.  T@ere is no fence or other protective device to
prevent persons from climbing it."  Could this tragedy have been avoided?
Are there similar installations in your district, because of their location
and access to the public, that have similar potential for injury or fatality
to the public?

WRD Memo No. 66.78 suggested steps to reduce hazards at cableway sites and
requested a report of corrective actions taken.  The majority of offices did
not respond to that request.  We now must insist on positive action.  Safety
measures will be taken, where needed, as soon as possible.  Primary emphasis
should be on cableways, but all structures should receive attention
including those discontinued but not dismantled.

Adequate but economical devices should be utilized, where possible; for
example, a small fenced enclosure about an A-frame with hoop barricades on
back cables, or removal of the lower section of fixed ladders.
Installations with fixed ladder will conform to the provisions of the United
States of America Standards Institute Safety Code for fixed ladders.  The
followimg two recommendations from NSC data sheet 606 emphasize provisions
of that standard:

1.  Where fixed ladders are on structure exteriors and accessible to the
public, the bottom 7 feet (10 feet may be a wiser choice, depending on
structure and location) of unguarded ladder should be excluded to public
access by some means.  For example, a fence enclosure, with locked gate, may
be feasible; or the unguarded portion may be made portable and used only as
needed.







2.  At the base of each fixed ladder there should be
a warning sign to prohibit use by unauthorized personnel.

A 2-year action program to complete all needed cableway safety measures
is hereby established.  Initial emphasis should be directed to sites in
urban and recreational areas.  Additional funds will be necessary for
completion of this work at many Federal CBR network stations.  Each
office shall submit a station-by-station work plan and funds needed for
each CBR station by December 31, 1968.  A station where adequate pro-
tection exists or is already budgeted for should be noted.  The work
plan will include:

1.  Station number and name.

2.  Source and amount of other funding, if any.

3.  Program classification code (see page 11 of
    SW Memo No. 59.26).

4.  A concise statement of safety measures needed.

5.  Estimated costs.

To evaluate the magnitude of the safety problem which may exist nation-
wide at all of our record collection sites, we will require a second,
similar report for all stations.  Please submit a second work plan for
all other stations (those not included in the CBR network report) by
February 28, 1969.  Stations where adequate provisions exist to protect
the public and our employees from injury need not be reported.

A Division policy memorandum on mandatory safety provisions at field
facilities will be issued in a few weeks.








                                   J. S. Cragwall, Jr.

WRD DISTRIBUTION:  A,B,S,FO,PO

Key Words:  Cableways, Field Installations, Cableway Hazards,
            Cableway Accident