WASHINGTON-North Carolina’s potentially precedent-setting telecom tower standard has gone into effect, despite objections from the National Association of Tower Erectors to a fall-protection provision that it says is too harsh for small businesses.
NATE tried to have the requirement changed by the state legislature, but to no avail. The association, which has emerged as the tower industry’s most influential voice on tower safety, argued the 100-percent fall-protection requirement was too onerous on small businesses subcontracted by large tower companies and mobile-phone carriers.
NATE also objected to the state’s tower-radiation safety guidelines, which mirror those adopted by the Federal Communications Commission. The tower RF issue will remain in limbo until next spring when the state legislature reconvenes for a scheduled short session.
NATE members disagreed with North Carolina officials over how many employees with rescue training should be on site and how much time novice workers should have to obtain emergency response expertise.
State labor officials originally pushed to require that at least two employees on a site have tower rescue training. The rationale for the rule was there are many areas-particularly in remote locales-where there is a lack of equipment and expertise to deal with tower emergencies in a timely manner.
After objections were raised, the North Carolina Department of Labor agreed to require at least one on-site worker having rescue training as long as the second employee be trained in that capacity within six months. NATE members urged that the second employee be given more time-at least one-year-to be trained in tower rescue.
“NATE is pleased to see a fall-protection standard in place in North Carolina. We worked very closely with the North Carolina Department of Labor for over four years in developing their communication tower standards, and we hope those efforts will result in greater safety for tower climbers in their state. Our few disagreements aside, both NATE and NCDOL want the same thing, greater safety for the men and women working on communication towers,” said Patrick Howey, executive director of NATE.
The dispute over the North Carolina tower standard escalated into a political controversy in the state legislature, with legislation introduced to modify or overturn various provisions. When lawmakers failed to do so before the legislative session ended last month, the fall-protection clause took effect. Other provisions of the state tower standard became law at various times earlier this year.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, already a partner with NATE in promoting voluntary tower-safety guidelines in various states, is looking at the North Carolina tower standard as a possible model for federal law. The U.S. does not have workplace safety regulations specifically addressing tower construction and maintenance.
In 2000, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said between 1992 and 1997, nearly 100 workers died from falls and other injuries related to tower construction. Sixteen tower-construction workers died on the job in 2003, according to an OSHA official.
NIOSH estimated at that time the risk for fatal injuries among telecom tower workers ranges from 49 to 468 injury-related deaths per 100,000 employees, compared with about five deaths per 100,000 employees in all other U.S. industries. The reason for the wide spread in the estimate, according to NIOSH, is difficulty in identifying the number of employees involved in building and maintaining telecom towers.
North Carolina has had its share of tower fatalities. Nine tower-related deaths have occurred in the state in recent years.
Earlier this year, a 24-year-old man was killed after falling at least 100 feet from a cell-phone tower owned by Alltel Corp. and managed by American Tower Corp. North Carolina officials subsequently investigated the death of John Paul Regan, employed by Excel Tower Services Inc. of Wilson County, N.C., at the time of the accident.
Meantime, OSHA has proposed fines totaling $115,000 against Viaero Wireless, a Fort Morgan, Colo.-based firm, for alleged safety violations in connection with the death in February of a man who fell more than 180 feet from a cellular tower on which he was working.
“Viaero Wireless has received the OSHA citations and we respectfully disagree. We cooperated with OSHA during the investigation and will continue to do so. The safety and health of our employees is our paramount interest and we believe that we had and continue to have programs to protect our employees against hazards of falls in our operations,” said Laurie Cox, human resources manager at Viaero.
Viaero Wireless, which provides mobile-phone service to eastern Colorado and Nebraska, touts its commitment to coverage. On its Web site, Viaero Wireless promises: “To show our dedication for bringing seamless wireless service to rural Nebraska, we’re inviting you to pre-sign for service with Viaero. If we get 200 signatures, we’ll go to work to build a tower and have it done within 180 days.”
