29 CFR 1926.50: Medical services and first aid

Question 1

A contractor is renovating a plant's water-treatment area. For three days, a crew will decant and mix a strong caustic cleaning solution that can splash onto the eyes and skin. The only eyewash station is in the site office trailer, across the yard from the mixing area. The safety technician is asked what the site needs before the work begins. Which action is required?

1. AProvide suitable quick-drenching or flushing facilities for the eyes and body within the mixing work area for immediate use
2. BRequire the crew to walk to the office-trailer eyewash and report to the supervisor after any splash
3. CKeep a bottle of sterile saline in the first aid kit and rely on the office-trailer eyewash for anything more serious
4. DPost the phone number of the nearest hospital at the office trailer so injured workers can be directed there

Question 2

A utility contractor is sending a six-person crew to a remote site where the nearest clinic is a long drive away and no physician is reasonably accessible. The foreman says the site is covered because one crew member, Dana, 'took a first-aid class years ago' and has told the foreman so, though she holds no card and no record of the training exists. The company also keeps a fully stocked first aid kit in the truck. Based on the standard, what is the correct assessment of this arrangement?

1. ACompliant, because a stocked first aid kit combined with a crew member who has verbal first-aid experience satisfies the requirement
2. BNot compliant, because with no reasonably accessible medical facility, the person available to render first aid must hold a valid first-aid certificate or equivalent training verifiable by documentary evidence
3. CNot compliant, because first aid-trained personnel are required only when a hospital is within a specified short driving time, which this site exceeds
4. DCompliant, because the foreman has accepted Dana's statement and the foreman is responsible for judging worker qualifications

Question 3

A contractor starts a 10-week building project in a rural area. The nearest clinic is more than an hour away by road, no physician is on site, and no one on the crew has first-aid training. The superintendent says the project is covered because the foreman has a cell phone to call an ambulance and the crew has a well-stocked first aid kit. Which action is required to meet the first-aid personnel requirement?

1. AArrange for medical personnel to give advice by phone on occupational health matters, which removes the need for an on-site first-aid provider
2. BPost the clinic's phone number conspicuously; no trained first-aid provider is needed if a kit and phone are on site
3. CRely on the kit's weekly inspection records, because a properly maintained kit replaces the need for a trained provider
4. DHave a person with a valid first-aid training certificate, or training equivalent that can be verified by documentary evidence, available at the worksite to render first aid