Safety officer.

Hello Fellow Submariners!

I am LCDR Beals, newly transferred to the Naval Safety Center. I am happy to be a part of the safety team and I am looking forward to making a difference in the area of submarine safety and mishap prevention. I am a Submarine Engineering and Repair LDO and was an A-Ganger in my past life. I am the Submarine Safety Officer Course program manager. Additionally, as a member of the Safety Center Survey team, I am responsible for assessing the areas of General Departmental, Safety Officer and HAZMAT.

This article addresses HAZMAT (HM), more specifically HM Management and the Material Control Program (Atmosphere Contaminants). As a HAZMAT Coordinator assigned to a Fast Attack during a major availability, I learned a few things the hard way.

I made the following mistakes:

1. I waited until the last month of the availability to restart the Atmosphere Control Log.

2. My HM inventory was not complete and our storage was terrible. Our HM lockers were not properly labeled. Incorrect containers were used and the containers were not properly labeled. In some cases we had not segregated.

3. Divisional inventories revealed everyone had Prohibited, Restricted and Limited use materials that I hadn't issued Atmosphere Contaminant labels for and taken action to remove them from the boat.