Before visiting high sites (4500m +) for the first time all employees scheduled to work on the site must visit their personal physician to verify that they have no medical conditions that make it inadvisable for them to work at this high altitude. AURA/NIO will pay for this medical examination. AURA/NIO will provide a suggested screening list for these medical conditions. Prescription medications are available to reduce the effects of high altitude distress; AURA/NIO can provide information on some of these medications. Employees are urged to discuss the options with their physician.
Before leaving for high sites, employees should review the following: high altitude medical information.
Do not visit the site if you are already feeling unwell because the stress of high altitude could exacerbate the condition. This is especially the case for any kind of chest infection or respiratory problem.
If any member of the party appears to be in distress with symptoms of high
altitude illness, immediately drive them down to lower altitude. Take
an emergency oxygen bottle with you (if available) in the vehicle and administer
oxygen during the decent, but it is important to realize that administering
oxygen does not reduce the need for immediate descent. If necessary, take
the patient to a medical clinic.
Descent is always the best course of action when feeling bad due to altitude, but no one will feel 100% at altitude, especially during the first few days. Full acclimitization takes weeks, and thus most of the time we will be operating in less than optimum conditions.
It is very easy to become dehydrated at high altitude so take plenty of water with you to the site and drink regularly. If you are working outdoors remember that the risk of severe sunburn is increased at high altitude so use adequate sunburn protection.
Do not visit the site with less than two people or two 4x4's in the party. Prior to driving up to the site, establish a "buddy system" so that every individual has someone clearly identified to check them for symptoms of possible altitude illness and to catch possible mistakes in completing tasks.
Be aware at all times that, although it may not be obvious, the reduced oxygen in the air reduces mental ability and increases the likelihood of making mistakes. Take particular care when doing potentially dangerous work, such as working with hazardous voltages, to have all work checked by your "buddy".
Try to spend at least one night in a moderate altitude like San Pedro before visiting the site. For the first day or two, while your body is acclimatizing to the altitude, keep workdays short; less than 4 hours is a reasonable guideline. Later in the week limit your workday so that you are not excessively tired at the end of the day; 6 to 7 hours on the site is a reasonable guideline. Do not plan to be on the site after dark unless a particular task requires nighttime conditions. Never sleep on the site; always descend to lower altitude to sleep. The reason is that people breathe less during sleep and this exaggerates the severity of the hypoxia of high altitude.
All AURA/NIO personnel visiting the site are encouraged to have basic first aid and CPR training. In any group of visitors, at least one member should have basic first aid and CPR training.
AURA/NIO will provide training courses as needed.
Take particular care not to start a fire in enclosed areas like the containers at the ALMA site. Although, because of the reduced oxygen in the atmosphere, solids will generally burn more slowly than at lower altitude, the reduced oxygen also means that there is less time to exit a smoke filled enclosure before you become unconscious. Take particular care when working with volatile liquids. The reduced barometric pressure lowers the flashpoint of volatile liquids and increases their volatility. Volatile liquids may therefore ignite more easily and spread more rapidly than at lower elevations. Volatile liquids that are not flammable at lower elevations may burn at higher sites.
Do not visit the site with less than two vehicles in the party. Take particular care when driving at high altitude; check that the vehicle has been correctly placed in 4-wheel drive. Maintain vehicle speed within safe limits when descending by keeping the vehicle in low gear. Take care not to get stuck in snow-drifts; remember that snow-drifts must be drivable in both directions. Early in your visit familiarize yourself with all access routes so that you can judge which route is best if you have to drive at night or in poor driving conditions. Carry food, water, warm clothing, a shovel and a tow rope with you in the vehicle. Fill up the vehicle gas tank before driving to the site. A well equipped truck is a sure shelter!
Exceptions to the Two Vehicle Rule
Single vehicle travel is permitted if ALL these circumstances are met:
The weather on any high site can change rapidly. Be aware of the weather conditions throughout the day, particularly if you are working inside. Drive down immediately if changing weather conditions make hazardous driving conditions likely due to poor visibility, poor road conditions or any other reason.
Be aware that there are many poorly defined roads in the vicinity of the sites and route finding can be difficult, especially in poor visibility. Pay particular attention to your route if you will be coming out at night. Use of a GPS receiver is encouraged, but is not a substitute for good route finding practice and common sense. Familiarize yourself with maps of the area, access roads, landmarks, and distances before you arrive in the site area. Know how to use your GPS before you are out in the field.
So that activities at the site can be coordinated, when you are planning
your visit to the site, notify Alistair Walker and/or Brooke Gregory in La Serena.
You should give them your itinerary including lodging and contact information.
When on site, you should make arrangements to contact someone at your
hotel or in La Serena daily. This person would know where the group was going
to be, and for how long. When back down, this person would be contacted so
that he/she knows the group has returned. This could be a family member,
someone at CTIO, or even people at your hotel (only if the same person will
be there both in the morning and when the group returns). In the event that
the group does not call in, the contact will know what the planned itinerary
was and could contact the authorities. Generally, a group should be overdue
by more than 24 hours before contacting the authorities. Even minor injuries
or truck trouble can cause large delays and all groups traveling to remote
sites should be capable of initiating self-rescue. In Chile, the Carabineros
in the area should be called first in an emergency.
Contact information:
Alistair Walker: awalker@ctio.noao.edu, 56 51 205 305 Work, 56 51 270172 Home.
Brooke Gregory: bgregory@ctio.noao.edu, 56 51 205 302 Work, 56 51 205 271 Home. Cell. 09-8731516
Visitors to AURA/NIO sites should be aware that there are landmines and other unexploded munitions in the general vicinity of the Chilean frontier. For example, a gas pipeline installation machine hit a landmine at a site 6 km east of San Pedro in June 1998. The Chilean military have assured the ALMA Project that there are no mines or munitions on the Science Preserve which includes the ALMA site. However, no such assurance exists for other areas and it is strongly recommended that visitors stay on the established roads when visiting other sites.