i. Chain of Command. Within the chain of command and depending upon the
size of the installation or geographical region, the safety officer or the preventive
medicine officer (usually a physician) carries out the safety and health programs. If the
region or installation is normal size or small but special circumstances exist (which is
normally the case), then both should be present and oversee their responsible areas.
The safety officer usually receives the bulk of the inquiries and complaints plus reports
(accident, illness, and so forth); and, therefore, serves the hub to orchestrate which
action office(s) (for example: COE, DEH, or Preventive Medicine Officer) should
receive the item(s). The preventive medicine officer or preventive medicine specialist
would sample possible substandard water, evaluate, and correct the problem so that it
once again meets requirements. This will be discussed later.
1-3.
ARMY OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAM
a. One of the programs under the Department of defense (DoD) is the OSH
Program. The Army Occupational Health Program (AOHP) is based on law, policy, and
regulation of the OSHA of 1970, appendix, para 1 of Public Law 91-596 (Appendix A of
this subcourse contains a list of important references that you may wish to review).
(Further referrals to the list will not be made). The program has the same goal,
providing a safe and healthful work place for all workers.
b. The overall AOHP promotes health and reduces risk of illness arising from the
individual's work environment. This includes special preventive measures for both
military and civilian personnel who are exposed or potentially exposed to toxic
materials, infectious agents, or other hazardous influences of the work environment.
c. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) standards are:
(1) Department of Defense and DA OSH standards are to be followed at
military and non-military workplaces whether or not OSHA standards have been issued.
(2) Occupational Safety and Health Act standards, including temporary
emergency medical standards with minor adaptations, need to conform to DA
administrative practices.
(3) Alternate workplace standards, based on publications relating to
workplace exposure criteria, may be used in lieu of existing OSHA standards or when
no OSHA standards exist. All work place standards used by the Army must be equal to
or more stringent than those of OSHA in 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910,
1917, and 1926 and include consensus standards such as the threshold limit values
published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.
(4) Follow any other statutory regulatory workplace standards issued by
Federal agencies.
MD0165
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