SAFETY HEALTH IN ARCHEOLOGY
- Archeologists at risk include those working in dangerously low oxygen or high carbon monoxide levels in confined areas, or in the fields due to biological hazards, -snakes, insects, plants, soils, waterborne organisms
General elements of archeological health safety.
- Safety policy statement- stating commitment of management and accountability for safety and health
- Safety policy standards- to ensure safe working
- Employee orientation, training, and education about safety
- Accident investigation- made by site management to evaluate accident causes and stipulating corrective actions to prevent re-occurrences.
- Safety committee- which includes employees and management
- Appropriate record-keeping
- OSHA defines an excavation as any manmade cavity, cut, depression or trench formed by earth removal on earth’s surface, and requires that; any excavations deeper than 4 feet must slopped, shored, stepped or shielded, and must have an entrance/exit within 25 feet of workers; Sites must have a competent person to document safety and conditions of excavation and re-inspect it upon any changes in weather conditions.
- NIOSH defines a confined space as one that has limited openings for entry and exit not designed for continuous employee occupancy and has unfavorable ventilation that could produce hazardous environments. The Site Safety & Health Plan should always incorporate provisions that comply with the Washington State confined- space standards.
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Biological hazards
Hantavirus is a virus contracted by inhaling dust rising from disturbed rodent feces. It causes respiratory distress syndrome and life-threatening illnesses with flu-like symptoms. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that can affect heart, joints, and nerves and can cause partial paralysis.
- Disaster plan elements and emergency first aid procedures include fire, severe weather, vandalism, theft, and other security concerns. Health Plan should clearly discuss liability for everyone on a project.
Safety and ethics of archeological fieldwork
- The basis of ethical safety lies in the Hippocratic Oath, which underlines the code of conduct of medical practitioners.
- The Society for American Archeology (SAA)-is an international organization dedicated to the research, protection, and interpretation of the archeological heritage of Americans.
Fieldwork safety and the archeological profession
- Business-oriented archeological organizations have the strongest statements about safety because of their association with engineering and environmental companies with large records of experience with occupational safety and health administration and other government safety agencies.
Fieldwork safety and the law
- Archeological fieldwork is a workplace that is subject to government laws and regulations. OSHA regulations include;
- Hazard assessment and characterization
- Awareness creation and communication- to employees
- Health and safety plan (HASP) development to cope with hazards, like the use of personal protective equipment. What goes to HASP is highly determined by hazard characteristics, and is often stipulated by other OSHA regulations. OSHA regulations include general environmental controls in temporary labor camps of which archeological field camps are a part.
Not-so-strange encounters of the hazardous kind
- The Indiana Jones image is not entirely wrong in conveying the idea that the “real world” of archeology is filled with hazards that threaten physical or mental health, therefore, placing archeologists at risk. Some of these risks include;
- Personal health as a safety hazard-Considering the underlying principle, “Do no harm,” fieldworkers must be made aware of potential hazards for idiosyncratic medical conditions. Affected workers should not attend fieldwork, and if they attend, they should do so after planning for any emergencies.
- Environmental hazards-Environmental hazards fall into three categories, including biological hazards such as wildlife and microorganisms, chemical hazards like toxic wastes and unexploded ordinance, and landscape and atmospheric hazards like abandoned mine shafts and underground workings.
- Hazardous field methods and technologies-including excavations that leave deep side walls or privy pits and excavations inside large structures such as pyramids or temple mounds. Protective fencing and backfilling are essential in this case.
- Logistical hazards-Transportation to and from the field is a significant source of hazard with automobile accidents as the most common peril. In addition, hazardous conditions occur in field camps like camp remoteness, making it hard to provide quick medical attention.
- Social and psychological hazards -like warfare and terrorism around the fields, local communities suspicious of outsiders, urban archeology in high crime neighborhoods.