WHEN THE LAB IS OUTDOORS:
SAFETY FOR FIELD TRIPS AND RESEARCH IN REMOTE ENVIRONMENTS
Jeffrey N. Rubin
College of Natural Sciences
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712-1199
jrubin@mail.utexas.edu
Presented at the annual meeting of the
Campus Safety, Health, & Environmental Management Association
July 13, 1999
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Abstract
Laboratory safety is supported by regulations and consensus standards, but few laws,
standards, or even policies exist to provide guidelines for safety related to field trips, field
classes, or field research in remote areas. As with lab safety, both behavior and equipment must
be addressed.
A comprehensive policy should include driving, awareness and planning,
communications, equipment, training, and staffing for field trips and classes.
Risks - and
casualties - associated with driving are far greater than those associated with most laboratory
research. Institutional driving policies should be extended to cover trips to, from, and in remote
areas. Driving policies should include driver qualifications, number of drivers per vehicle, driver
rest and rotation, and “no-drive” times. Effective risk assessment begins with hazard awareness
and pre-trip planning, and should include physical, political, medical, and social hazards.
Advances in telecommunication technology reduce the likelihood that participants will be
isolated in event of emergency, and enhance speed and location of emergency response: groups
should not be in remote areas without some means of emergency electronic communication.
Although proper equipment varies with location, time of year, and planned trip duration, basic
emergency supplies, such as first aid kits, tire-changing tools, potable water, and shelter should
always be included. Appropriate training includes use and basic maintenance of emergency
equipment, wilderness first aid, crisis management, and prevention. Equipment and training can
be tailored to the needs of the end-users. "Solo" field research should be discouraged, and field
trips and classes should have adequate staffing to prevent and manage emergencies. As with all
policies and advisories addressing safety, appropriate risk-benefit analysis must be applied.
Policies and procedures must be determined by objective analysis rather than convenience. A
case study of a recently-adopted field-safety policy demonstrates the value of achieving input and
consensus from those most affected by the policy.
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Introduction
Use, transport, and disposal of chemicals, biological materials, radioactive materials and
radiation sources are regulated in industrial and academic laboratories. Building, electrical, and
life-safety codes control structures, equipment, and work environments. Consensus standards
also apply to preventive and protective safety equipment. Few laws or standards apply, however,
to research safety in remote environments, whether in the form of field trips, field classes, or
simply field research. Perhaps as a result of this, people working in or going to or from remote
research areas are at far greater risk than they are in laboratories. As an example, over the last 25
years the University of Texas at Austin has not suffered a single lab-related fatality or serious
injury, but has seen several research personnel killed or injured either in their field area or in
motor-vehicle collisions going to or from it.
As more private and governmental units recognize the potential for death, injury, property
damage, and litigation, safety standards for travel are becoming more common but not
necessarily more standardized. A reasonable field safety standard should make field classes and
field research as safe and productive as reasonably possible. Students, faculty, and staff should
be properly trained and equipped to assess and minimize risk, and provide aid to themselves,
their colleagues, and, as possible, others in distress. Simply curtailing field excursions is not an
acceptable option. Practical skills and experience are essential components of higher education;
field classes and field research are excellent ways to provide them. Departments conducting field
classes or whose faculty, staff, and students conduct field research must manage risks associated
with travel between, and work in, remote areas.
This is intended to be a set of guidelines and expectations for academic units conducting
field trips, field classes, and field research. It is intended provide realistic standards to meet
safety and research/educational needs, where state and federal regulations and most university
policies leave off. Field safety is multi-faceted. Principal areas addressed in this document are:
•
Driving
•
Awareness and planning
•
Communications
•
Equipment to prevent and manage emergencies
•
Training for emergencies
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•
Staffing for field excursions
Definitions
Wilderness: any location where a person becoming sick or injured is one hour or more
away from definitive medical care (minimum: prehospital advanced life support); this
designation incorporates not just straight-line travel, but access/egress, time/distance from
functional communications, road/weather conditions, and availability of emergency resources
Trip leader: any employee of an academic institution (faculty, student, staff) charged
with conducting or assisting with a field excursion - primarily faculty and teaching assistants
(TAs)
Participant: member of a field excursion other than trip leaders - generally students
Driving
Many university policies provide administrative details for authorizing drivers of
university vehicles and vehicles leased by the university for official business. Items addressed
commonly include driver eligibility, liability and insurance, passengers, and liability
release/authorization for emergency medical treatment forms for student passengers.
Most
university policies do not specify safety guidelines, aside from “encouraging” administrative
units to develop appropriate ones. Recommended safety guidelines are as follows:
Driving between midnight and 0600 should be strongly discouraged. Travel during that
interval should be avoided except in cases of emergency, or during some trips that are designed
to observe nature in progress (e.g., trips to observe nocturnal fauna and flora) Non-emergency
travel during that interval for the sole purpose of getting from point A to point B should not be
done.
Example: If it becomes apparent that the choice is between stopping at
lodging/campgrounds at 2300 and arriving at the "next one" at 0100, choose the former. Several
governmental agencies whose employees routinely have extended travel to remote areas (e.g.,
Texas Forest Service, U. S. Forestry Service) require that employees stop for the night, at agency
expense, if they are not within a few minutes of their destination by 2200.
Drivers must be familiar with the vehicle they are driving. It doesn't take long, (and is
hardly restricted to academic field excursions), but drivers should know how to operate lights,
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wipers, turn-signals, transmission, etc., before they put a passenger-laden vehicle on the road.
Each vehicle with multiple occupants that will be traveling for intervals longer than two hours
should have more than one qualified driver on board. Drivers should rotate approximately every
two hours or be able to take at least a 10-15 minute break approximately every two hours. Relief
drivers should be encouraged to rest during "off-times." Front-seat passengers are encouraged
not to sleep during long drives - rather they should monitor drivers for signs of fatigue. It is
recommended that drivers obtain at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep the night before they
drive. People who have been up most of the immediately preceding night are encouraged not to
drive. Should driving be necessary under such conditions, a high sense of awareness of driver
fatigue should be maintained by drivers and passengers.
Multi-vehicle groups should be able to communicate between vehicles.
Cellular
phones, CB radios, or low-cost “family two-way” radios are effective for this (and radios aren’t
affected by cell boundaries). If electronic communication is unavailable, trip leaders should predesignate meeting places to gather if vehicles become separated. Trip leaders should be aware
when other vehicles are overdue and should know where to look in such circumstances.
Awareness and planning
Awareness is the most basic - and most important - step in effectively planning for field
work, and must incorporate multiple aspects.
Hazard awareness includes knowledge of weather patterns, temperature ranges, risk of
wildland fire, flood, avalanche, severe weather, or endemic disease may determine what type of
preparation is necessary.
Awareness of political and social hazards such as insurrection,
government corruption, rule of law (or lack of it) and degree of personal safety (Is camping safe?
Are robberies common? Is local law enforcement effective - or even present?) is as important a
planning tool as knowledge of physical hazards.
Awareness of local customs and resources not only allows for a safer trip, it may also
provide more pleasant conditions in the research area. For domestic field work, it is important to
know local ordinances and customs (e.g., speed limits, “wet” vs. “dry” counties, observation of
“Blue Laws”) as well as what emergency and non-emergency resources are available, including
medical care, vehicle repair, stores; for field work outside US borders, travelers should also be
aware of national laws and legal systems, and cultural/language differences.
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Emergency planning includes identifying specific hazards and one’s vulnerability to
them, ability to prevent/manage emergencies, and needs for successful outcomes.
Self-
preparation is an important aspect of contingency planning. Adverse situations may not be
expected, but should be anticipated. Useful aspects of self-preparation include:
•
Panic suppression and “survival thinking”
•
Understanding the effect of an injured member on the entire group
•
Rescue philosophy: the rescuer, whether good Samaritan or part of an organized
response, is more important than the victim (failure to take this to heart kills many
would-be rescuers - and victims)
The following items represent some of those to be considered in a pre-trip plan:
•
Weather protection: appropriate clothing to prevent hypothermia or heat illness
•
Adequate water supply (either local or brought in) and containers
•
Immunizations (necessary immunizations and/or prophylactic medications should be
provided)
•
Research location(s) and travel routes: road conditions, fuel availability, sleeping
areas in both directions; field researchers are strongly advised to obtain and bring
copies of relevant topographic and road maps prior to departure
•
Emergency assistance: how and where to receive it, how to request it in another
language (if necessary)
Supervisors of students preparing to do field research in remote environments should
assist their students in conducting hazard analyses, including physical, biological, and political
hazards,
as
well
as
what
hazard
mitigation
can
be
reasonably
accomplished.
Students/faculty/staff should be strongly discouraged from working alone in remote areas. Prior
to departure, students/faculty/staff should leave an itinerary with their supervisor or department
office, providing the following information as available:
•
"Base" location
•
Contact information and location of nearest local law-enforcement
•
Emergency contact in field area (may be same as previous item)
•
Estimated return date
•
Latest possible return date
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•
Emergency contact should next of kin need to be notified
Participants in field trips/classes requiring physical exertion, mobility in uneven terrain,
or potential exposure to significant health hazards (e.g., dust for asthmatics, anaphylaxisinducing allergens) should be made aware of the risks. All participants should be asked to
provide information indicating personal medical conditions that may create a serious health
threat or endanger the group (e.g., respiratory, cardiovascular, allergic, and endocrine
conditions). Although participants cannot be forced to provide accurate information, they must
be asked to do so and understand the consequences of not doing so. All information on such
forms should be considered confidential. Students should be aware of whom will have access to
the information they provide;
administrators and trip leaders should treat the information
provided accordingly. Figure 1 shows a suggested medical-history form.
Medication for trip participants (either dosage regimens, such as insulin, or prophylactic
medications, such as epinephrine auto-injectors) must be provided by the participants;
prescription medications cannot be supplied by the department or institution except under
specific (and uncommon) circumstances. Needs for such medications, as well as items such as
carrying spare prescription eyewear and hearing-aid batteries, should be determined in advance.
It is extremely unwise to undertake physically demanding fieldwork if not reasonably
physically fit, or if pre-existing medical conditions pose a significant threat to survival. many
institutions have offices for special-needs students. Such participants should be encouraged to
work with these offices and course providers.
Table 1 lists several sources of information for planning field excursions.
Communications
Institutions should have cellular phones available for field use. Those planning trips or
research in extremely remote areas should be aware of less-conventional communications
equipment, such as FM two-way radios, emergency locator transponders, and satellite phones.
These items can be expensive; unless a single research group has regular needs for them,
“community” communications equipment may be the most cost-effective way to meet
institutional needs.
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It is highly desirable that each excursion in a wilderness environment have a way to
obtain help in an emergency, therefore it is essential for groups to have at least one cellular
phone, CB radio, or other electronic means of communication where such is applicable. Trip
leaders should be aware when groups within their trip are overdue and should know where to
look in such circumstances.
Local hand-held radio systems are recommended for remote base camps, research
facilities, or field trips where students, employees, or visiting scientists are dispersed.
Equipment
At minimum, the following functional equipment should be available on vehicles used for
field excursions:
•
Spare tire (two if conditions indicate and space allows), functional tire-changing
tools, traffic warning devices
•
Five-gallon water jug or cooler (collapsible if necessary); should be cleaned and filled
before each outing and filled during outing as possible
•
First-aid kit (stocked and maintained), including suitable first-aid handbook
•
Fire extinguisher (charged and inspected)
•
Appropriate road maps
•
Flashlight, preferably heavy-duty, with fresh batteries
For trips/classes placing participants in a wilderness environment and requiring them to
hike more than five minutes from the vehicles, "wilderness first aid" kits should be carried by
trip leaders.
Necessary personal protective equipment (e.g., hard hats, eye protection, ear
protection) should be provided for each participant.
Individuals should provide the following (non-waterproof items should be in locking
plastic bags):
•
Drinking water (water bottle or canteen)
•
Personal first-aid kit or items: medicines, “comfort” items
•
Flashlight (heavy-duty, waterproof recommended) with spare bulb and batteries
•
Proper clothing for field area
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Training
There is a wide variety of training available for people working outdoors. Specific
classes such as Emergency Medical Technician, Wilderness First Responder, various types of
technical rescue, and survival, may be highly beneficial.
Unfortunately, they tend to be
expensive and time-consuming. Although trip leaders and participants are encouraged to receive
as much training as they can, the following training should be required for people in the
following roles:
Trip leaders expected to independently supervise one or more participants in a wilderness
environment:
•
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR): minimum training equivalent to American
Heart Association “Heartsaver” (three-four hours, includes CPR, rescue breathing,
and obstructed-airway management for adult victims). Skills should be kept current.
•
Wilderness First Aid: minimum training of eight-hours in Wilderness First Aid.
Curriculum should follow national standards in basic and delayed-transport (aka,
“wilderness”) first aid; an excellent example is that offered through the National
Safety Council/Wilderness Medical Society. Skills should be kept current. Table 1
lists several useful wilderness medicine texts.
All trip leaders, regardless of supervisory expectations, and all drivers:
•
Emergency equipment use: operation, simple trouble-shooting procedures and
maintenance for basic items such as vehicles, communications equipment, fire
extinguishers, roadway signaling devices (e.g., flares), and tire-changing equipment.
This training should be provided to other participants as appropriate and necessary.
All participants in field trips/classes:
•
General safety orientation: Trip leaders should orient participants to specific
hazards (if any) and emergency procedures (if any) before departure. All participants
should know locations of emergency equipment, and basic emergency procedures
(e.g., how to request help in case of injury, what to do if they become separated from
the group). This is analogous to “site-specific” training required in laboratories.
Personnel preparing for field research in remote environments:
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•
Operation, simple trouble-shooting procedures and maintenance of all applicable
emergency and communications equipment.
•
CPR and Wilderness First Aid training is strongly recommended.
Staffing
Field excursions in wilderness environments should have sufficient staffing to enable trip
leaders to keep track of participants and effectively manage the remainder of a group should one
or more participants become ill or injured. The appropriate ratio of trip leaders to participants
will vary considerably based on trip location, duration, activities, and local hazards. Trips in
which participants are required to perform more than mildly exerting activities or travel on foot
over rough terrain are recommended to have a trip leader:participant ratio not greater than 1:10.
Maintaining appropriate leader:participant ratios may make it necessary to limit trip/class/lab
sizes due to safety, transportation, or staffing constraints.
Unaccompanied field research in wilderness environments should be discouraged.
Researchers should be strongly advised to conduct remote research with at least one companion.
Acknowledgments
Material in this paper was drawn largely from a field safety policy, drafted by the author,
proposed for the College of Natural Sciences, University of Texas at Austin.
The policy
represents the consensus effort of an ad hoc committee, consisting of members of each
department within the College that conducted field excursions. Committee members were: J.
Rubin (Chair), R. Brown, M. Helper, R. Jansen, J. Lacy.
Author
Jeff Rubin is Asst. Dean for Environmental Health & Safety in the College of Natural
Sciences, University of Texas at Austin. He received his BS in Geology & Geophysics from
Yale University in 1982, and his MA (1986) and Ph.D. (1996) in Geological Sciences from the
University of Texas at Austin. He has been a volunteer firefighter since 1987 and served with
City of Austin Emergency Medical Services for five years. He has publications in geology,
emergency medicine, and safety. He teaches Laboratory Safety & Chemical Hygiene at the
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University of Texas, and also teaches hazardous materials response, incident management,
rescue, and wilderness first aid.
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Table 1. Selected sources of information for pre-excursion planning.
Books1
Auerbach, P.S., Donner, H.J., Weiss, E.A., 1999, Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine: Mosby,
St. Louis, 549 p.
th
Forgey, W.W., 1994, Wilderness Medicine: Beyond First Aid, 4 Ed.: ICS Books, Merryville
(IN), 244 p.
Paton, B.C., Backer, H.D., Bowman, W.D., Steele, P., Thygerson, A., 1998, Wilderness First
Aid: Emergency Care for Remote Locations: Jones & Bartlett, Sudbury, MA, 350 p.
(National Safety Council/Wilderness Medicine Society collaboration; textbook for National
Safety Council WFA course).
nd
Tilton, B., and Hubbell, F., 1994, Medicine for the Backcountry, 2 Ed.: ICS Books, Merryville
(IN), 192 p.
Weiss, E.A., 1997, A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine, 2nd Ed.: Adventure
Medical Kit, Oakland, 198 p.
th
Wolfe, M.S., 1998, Health Hints for the Tropics, 12 Ed.: American Society of Tropical
Medicine and Medical Hygiene, Northbrook (IL), 51 p.
2
Web sites
Topic
General field safety
Source
College of Natural Sciences
Univ. of Texas at Austin
US maps and photos
US Geological Survey
URL
http://www.utexas.edu/cons/safety/fieldsafety
http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/products/status.html
Travel advisories
US State Dept.
http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html
General travel services
US State Dept.
http://www.state.gov/www/services.html
US Geological Survey
http://water.usgs.gov/public/realtime.html
~ Real-time stream-gauge data
Weather information
NOAA
Weather information
Univ. Corp. for Atmospheric Research
Diseases and immunizations
CDC
Tropical disease information
ProMED
1
http://www.esdim.noaa.gov/weather_page.html
http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/index.html
http://www.cdc.gov/health/diseases.htm
http://www.fas.org/promed
Recommended by the author based on review and use. Inclusion of items on this list does not represent product
endorsement by the author.
2
Commercial Web sites are not included on this list, but are provided on the first Web site listed.
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Figure 1. Sample medical history form for field-excursion participants.
Please provide the requested information to the best of your ability. Although you are not
required to provide confidential medical information, it is in your best interest to do so. This
information will be used solely for appropriate safety preparations for field trips and classes, and
will be disclosed to trip/class leaders only as necessary.
Medical history
•
Respiratory problems
•
Severe (i.e., potentially life-threatening) allergies to MEDICATIONS
•
Severe (i.e., potentially life-threatening) allergies to stings/bites, foods, other
•
Diabetes
If you are diabetic, are you insulin-dependent?
•
Cardiac
•
Other medical history/disability (e.g., altitude sickness, mobility impairment)
Medications
Do you take medications (prescription or over-the-counter) on a regular basis? If so, what
medications/dosages? Are any of them perishable or require other specialized storage or
handling)?
•
Do you carry an epinephrine auto-injector for potential anaphylactic reactions?
Other information/needs
Do you have any other pertinent medical information or special health needs?
Name:
Signature:
Date completed:
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JNR 12/98
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