A doctor with a lump in her breast was the subject of a daring rescue over the weekend at the South Pole. Dr. Jerri Nelson, part of a team of Antarctic researchers, had diagnosed her condition herself and had begun self-administered chemo-therapy.
Richard Boehne, professor of Occupational Safety and Health at GVSU, knows the issues surrounding safety in Antarctica. He has been to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station as a safety expert. He traveled to Antarctica twice a year for four consecutive years when he worked as an employee of Antarctic Support Associates (ASA) from 1992-96. ASA is the prime contractor of the U.S. National Science Foundation, which operates the U.S. Antarctic Program. In the fall of 1997 he was invited to share his expertise at the Third International Scientific Conference in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
Boehne said the extremely remote and harsh environment of Antarctica requires that managers pay particular attention to the administration of safety and health. With that in mind, at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station Boehne helped develop an air sample plan to assess worker exposure to the exhaust from transport jets.
Due to the weather, the turbo-propeller engines of the LC-130 were not shut down, meaning that employees had to load and unload the aircraft with the engines running and were exposed to the propeller exhaust stream, Boehne said.
Subsequent medical questionnaires revealed that 84 percent of these employees showed signs and symptoms of exposure to high concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other elements. Studies are continuing to determine if cold air and high altitude add to the toxicity of jet fuel exhaust fumes.
GVSU offers both a major and a minor in Occupational Safety and Health. Students take coursework that prepares them with safety, management, and scientific training. GVSU OSHA students work in area businesses providing safety and hygiene assessments and programs as part of their academic field study requirements.
This past Friday, the OSH program dedicated a new safety lab in Padnos 150. The Safety and Compliance Lab includes $15,000 worth of safety testing equipment from J.J. Keller and Associates of Neenah, Wisconsin.
