Why is smoking still permitted on the inside of towing vessels? Over 75 percent of the towing industry smokes. I think this the only place left in this country where you can smoke in the workplace. This is unfair and unsafe for the non-smoking mariner. Any relief in sight?
Answered by the USCG Office of Vessel Activities.
The short answer: No, there is no immediate relief in sight.
However, as of spring 2009, the Coast Guard anticipated publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking for the inspection for certification of towing vessels. As part of that rulemaking, the Coast Guard anticipates there will a discussion concerning mariner safety and health issues. The Coast Guard will open the docket to receive comments on this proposed rulemaking and comments concerning prohibition of smoking on towing vessels are certainly possible.
Absent any specific regulations to prohibit smoking on towing vessels, the Coast Guard encourages you to work with your company’s safety and health committee and see how you can achieve a company-specific policy concerning prohibition of smoking aboard its vessels.
A discussion forum on Marine Safety, Recreational Boating Safety, and waterways managment as we work together to protect maritime commerce and mobility, the marine environment, and safety of life at sea.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
1 comment:
Comment Policy
We welcome your comments on postings at all Coast Guard sites/journals. These are sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard to provide a forum to talk about our work providing maritime safety, security and stewardship for the American people to secure the homeland, save lives and property, protect the environment, and promote economic prosperity.
Please note: Anonymous comments have been disabled for this journal. It is preferred that you use your real name when posting a comment. WE WILL POST THE NAME YOU ENTER WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT. Also, you are welcome to use Open ID or other user technologies that may be available.
All comments submitted are moderated and will be reviewed before posting. The Coast Guard retains the discretion to determine which comments it will post and which it will not. We expect all contributors to be respectful. We will not post comments that contain personal attacks of any kind; refer to Coast Guard or other employees by name; contain offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups, or contain vulgar language. We will also not post comments that are spam, are clearly off topic or that promote services or products.
We will make our best effort to promptly post those comments that are consistent with the Comment Policy, but given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will usually occur only during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Comments submitted outside of business hours will be read and posted as quickly as possible.
I think banning smoking on towing vessels should be seriously considered, It is extremely unfair to non smokers, and is a safety risk.
ReplyDelete