SAFETY BELTS AND STRAPS

Appropriate use of goggles will limit eye hazards. Some goggles have plastic lenses that resist shattering upon impact. Others are designed to limit harmful infrared and ultraviolet radiation from arcs or flames by use of appropriate filter lenses. Remember, eye damage can be excruciatingly painful. PROTECT YOUR EYES. GLOVES Use gloves whenever you are required to handle rough, scaly, or splintery objects. Special flameproof gloves are designed for gas and electric-arc welding to limit danger and damage from sparks and other hot flying objects (fig. 1-60). Personnel in the electrical fields are usually required to wear insulating rubber gloves. Be sure to follow all regulations prescribed for the use of gloves. Gloves must not be worn around rotating machinery unless sharp or rough material is being handled. If such is the case, EXTREME CARE SHOULD BE EXERCISED to prevent the gloves from being caught in the machinery. SAFETY BELTS AND STRAPS The safety strap and body belt shown in figure 1-61 are what might be called your extra hands when you work aloft. The body belt, strapped around your waist, contains various pockets for small tools. The safety strap is a leather or neoprene-impregnated nylon belt with a tongue-type buckle at each end. While you are climbing you will have the safety strap Figure 1-60.-Gas and etectric-arc welding gloves. Figure 1-61.-Safety equipment. hanging by both ends from the left ring (called a D-ring because of its shape) on the body belt. When you are at working position, you unsnap one end of the safety strap, pass it around the supporting structure so there is no danger of its slipping (at least 18 inches from the top of the part on which it is fastened), and hook it to the right D-ring on the body belt. The safety strap must be placed around a part of the structure that is of sufficient strength to sustain an ABs weight and his or her equipment, and must rest flat against the surface without twists or turns. It must not be placed around any part of a structure that is being removed. ABs climbing poles at shore stations must be sure to place the straps beneath arms and braces of the poles, wherever possible. Before placing your weight on the strap, determine VISUALLY that the snap and D-ring are properly engaged. Do not rely on the click of the snap-tongue as an indication that the fastening is secure. The body belt and safety strap require inspection before use. Look for loose or broken rivets; cracks, cuts, nicks, tears or wear in leather; broken or otherwise defective buckles, such as enlarged tongue-holes, defects in safety-belt snap hooks and body belt D-rings. If you discover any of these or other defects, turn in your equipment and replace it. Perform maintenance periodically according to applicable procedures. Remember that leather and nylon belts are treated in different manners. POWER TOOLS Power tools have become so commonplace in the Navy that all ratings now use them in the performance of maintenance at one time or another. 1-36