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DTIC ADA379552: Human Factors Analysis of U.S. Navy Afloat Hazardous Material Mishaps

Personnel aboard U.S. Naval vessels face risk of occupational injury and illness. A substantial part of that risk involves incidents, or cases of exposure to hazardous materials (HAZMAT). Due to the nature of this type of risk, there are many opportunities to improve safety and readiness and to reduce the number of workdays lost to injury. For the period from CY94 - CY98 there are 627 HAZMAT mishaps involving 820 personnel onboard U. S. Navy surface ships. HAZMAT root causal factors are identified through the evaluation of Special Case Mishap Reports maintained by the Naval Safety Center. 89% of these mishaps are attributable to human error. Failure to use personal protective equipment (30.0%) and failure to recognize a hazardous situation (24.6%) are the primary reasons given for the mishaps. Comparisons are made between HAZMAT, electrical shock and back injury mishaps. While minor differences exist between these types of mishaps, overall there are many commonalities that may be observed. Most are relatively minor as classified by severity, occur aboard Carriers, and involve personnel in the E-3 to E-5 rank range.

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