A series of accidents involving falls from or in water tanks has highlighted inadequacies in tank design and a potentially greater problem. The rescue may be more dangerous than the original accident, with the potential for more loss of life or injury. Contractors and engineers are responsible for their own employees. Even with safety training and proper equipment, accidents will occur. Most rescue squads are local or neighboring fire departments, some with more practice than other departments. Elevated tanks were designed to store water, not for rescue or retrieval convenience. The following items would make working on and retrieval from tanks safer. This discussion is offered as a starting point. We recommend that you meet with your rescue personnel and draft a rescue plan. A copy of the plan should be kept at the tank and with the rescue crew. Each plan should be tank specific.

Subject
Risers, Openings, Rail, Costs, Protective coatings, Tubes, Antennas, Cables, Personnel, Roofs, Equipment, Health, safety, and environment, Maintenance
© 2006 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. This work is protected by both domestic and international copyright laws. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2006
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.