RUBBER  GLOVES There are four classes of rubber insulating gloves, the  primary  features  being  the  wall  thickness  of  the gloves  and  their  maximum  safe  voltage  rating.  The classes  and  the  maximum  safe  voltage  for  which  the gloves can be used are listed in table 3-2. Class 0 gloves are available in half-sizes from size 9 through size 12. SAFETY SHORTING PROBE Some of the electronic equipment you’ll work on will use large capacitors to filter the electrical power. You must  discharge  these  capacitors  before  you  can begin any work on the equipment. To do this you will need  to  get  a  safety  shorting  probe  and  follow  these procedures: 1.  Make  sure  input  power  to  the  equipment  has been  secured.  Use  the  appropriate  tag-out  procedures,  if necessary. 2.   Open   the   equipment   to   gain   access   to   the capacitors that need to be discharged.  BE CAREFUL not  to  touch  any  exposed  terminals.  Large  filter capacitors can store a lot of energy. And if you touch the exposed terminals. . . .ZAP!! 3. Connect the flexible ground strap of the safety shorting probe to the metal chassis of the equipment. Make sure there is a good metal-to-metal connection. 4. While holding the safety shorting probe by its plastic   handle,   touch   the   metal   probe   tip   to   the appropriate  terminals  to  be  grounded.  BE  CAREFUL not to touch the metal probe tip or the flexible ground strap while the probe is in contact with the terminals of the  capacitor.  Repeat  this  step  two  or  three  times  to ensure the capacitor is completely discharged. Approved safety shorting probes are stocked by the Naval Stock System. EYE  PROTECTION As an Electronics Technician, you depend heavily on your sense of sight in performing your job. To help protect  your  eyesight,  you  should  know  (1)  when  to wear  eye  protection,  and  (2)  which  eye  protection  to wear. The  Navy   Occupational   Safety   and   Health (NAVOSH) Program Manual (OPNAVINST 5100.23), states that you are required to wear appropriate eye protective   equipment   when   performing   eye hazardous  operations.  In   other   words,   whenever you’re doing something that could damage your eyes, WEAR   EYE   PROTECTION.   Some  of  the  things you’ll do that fall into this category are: Using an electric drill Soldering Maintaining  batteries Cleaning  and  maintaining  equipment  using  haz- ardous  materials Here  are  a  few  things  to  remember  about  eye protection:   Eye protection isn’t an option; it’s a requirement. If you’re doing something that calls for eye protection, take the time to get it and wear it. You can replace a scratched  pair  of  goggles,  but  you  can’t  replace  a scratched  eye. Wear  eye  protection  even  when  you  are  just “walking around” hazardous activities. After   you   are   through   using   eye   protection equipment, clean it and store it properly. HEARING  PROTECTION Hearing loss is a problem in the Navy. Every day, you’ll   be   working   with   and   around   many   noisy equipments  and  machinery  that  could  damage  your hearing. And, in most cases, the damage won’t happen overnight;  it  will  happen  slowly.  Your  hearing  will degrade  until  you  will  not  be  able  to  hear  the  softer sounds as well as you could have if you’d worn hearing protection.   This   is   commonly   called   a   hearing threshold shift. It simply means that the more you are exposed to damaging levels of noise,  the louder  normal sounds must be for you to hear them. You   must   start   NOW   to   protect   yourself   from hearing   loss.   OPNAVINST   5100.23   states   that “hearing  protective  devices  shall  be  worn  by  all personnel when they must enter or work in an area where the operations generate noise levels of greater than 84 decibels.” RESPIRATORY  PROTECTION Recall from chapter 2 the discussion of hazardous paints,  solvents,  and  other  materials  associated  with  the cleaning and maintenance of electronic equipment and antennas.  We  cannot  emphasize  too  strongly  the importance of using the proper respiratory protection 3-13