(1) You must meet the following requirements for protective clothing:

(a) Employees performing work that requires special protective clothing must be directed by the employer to wear the necessary special protective clothing.

(b) When necessary, protective clothing previously worn must be cleaned and disinfected before reissuance.

(2) You must meet the following requirements for personal flotation devices:

(a) You must provide and direct the wearing of personal flotation devices for those employees, such as line handlers, who are engaged in work in which they may be pulled into the water:

(i) When such employees are working in isolation: or

(ii) Where physical limitations of available working space creates a hazard of falling into the water; or

(iii) Where the work area is obstructed by cargo or other obstacles so as to prevent employees from obtaining safe footing for their work.

(b) Employees working on, over or along water, where the danger of drowning exists, must be provided with and must wear approved personal flotation devices.

(i) Employees are not considered exposed to the danger of drowning when:

(A) Working behind standard height and strength guardrails;

(B) Working inside operating cabs or stations which eliminate the possibility of accidental falling into the water;

(ii) Prior to and after each use, personal flotation devices must be inspected for defects which would reduce their designed effectiveness. Defective personal flotation devices must not be used.

(iii) To meet the requirement of (b) of this subsection, a personal flotation device must be approved by the United States Coast Guard as a Type I PFD, Type II PFD, Type III PFD, or Type V PFD, or equivalent, pursuant to 46 C.F.R. 160 (Coast Guard Lifesaving Equipment Specifications) and 33 C.F.R. 175.23 (Coast Guard Table of Devices Equivalent to Personal Flotation Devices).

(i) Along docks, walkways or other fixed installations on or adjacent to open water more than five feet deep, approved life rings with line attached must be provided. The life rings must be spaced at intervals not to exceed two hundred feet and must be kept in easily visible and readily accessible locations.

(ii) When employees are assigned work at other casual locations where exposure to drowning exists, at least one approved life ring with line attached must be provided in the immediate vicinity of the work.

(iii) Work assigned over water where the vertical drop from an accidental fall exceeds fifty feet, is subject to specific procedures approved by the department.

(iv) Lines attached to life rings must be at least ninety feet (27.43 m) in length, at least one-quarter inch in diameter and have a minimum breaking strength of five hundred pounds.

(v) Life rings must be United States Coast Guard approved thirty inch size (76.2 cm).

(vi) Life rings and attached lines must be maintained to retain at least seventy-five percent of their designed buoyancy and strength.

(3) You must provide emergency facilities and maintain them in good working order when employees are exposed to hazardous substances which may require emergency bathing, eye washing or other facilities.

(4) You must instruct employees to report every injury, regardless of severity, to you.

(5) You must meet the following requirements for stretchers:

(a) There must be available for each vessel being worked one Stokes basket stretcher, or its equivalent, permanently equipped with bridles for attaching to the hoisting gear.

(b) Stretchers must be kept close to vessels and must be positioned to avoid damage to the stretcher.

(d) Stretchers must have at least four sets of effective patient restraints in operable condition.

(e) Lifting bridles must be of adequate strength, capable of lifting 1,000 pounds (454 kg) with a safety factor of five, and must be maintained in operable condition. Lifting bridles must be provided for making vertical patient lifts at container berths. Stretchers for vertical lifts must have foot plates.

(f) Stretchers must be maintained in operable condition. Struts and braces must be inspected for damage. Wire mesh must be secured and have no burrs. Damaged stretchers must not be used until repaired.

(g) Stretchers in permanent locations must be mounted to prevent damage and must be protected from the elements if located out-of-doors. If concealed from view, closures must be marked to indicate the location of the lifesaving equipment.

(6) You must make sure telephone or equivalent means of communication are readily available.

(7) You must make sure employees working on any bridge or structure leading to a detached vessel berthing installation must wear United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices except where protected by railings, nets, or safety belts and lifelines.

(8) You must make sure on all docks there are substantial built-in-place ladders, spaced at intervals not to exceed four hundred feet, to reach the lowest water use. When portable ladders are to be used, ladders may be bolted to the bullrail or dock structure, or ladders can be secured to an embedded eye bolt in a concrete dock surface. The immediate area where such ladders or fastenings are located must be painted with a bright color or of a color which contrasts with the surrounding area. There must be a ladder at each end of the dock.

PDFWAC 296-56-60115

Other protective measures.