R 081414Z FEB 13 ZYB 
FM COMNAVSAFECEN NORFOLK VA
TO ALSAFE
BT
UNCLAS
ALSAFE 011/13
SECINFO/U/-//
MSGID/GENADMIN/COMNAVSAFECEN/00/FEB//
SUBJ/SUMMARY OF MISHAPS//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/
1.  WELCOME TO THE LATEST EDITION OF THE SUMMARY OF MISHAPS,
IN WHICH WE ASK YOU TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION AS A COUPLE OF
SAILORS STOP PAYING ATTENTION (HINT: WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT
NOW IS MUCH LESS HAZARDOUS THAN WHAT THEY WERE DOING).
A.  IN THIS WEEK'S "BOY AM I GLAD I BUCKLED UP" DEPARTMENT, WE
HAVE A LOGISTICS SPECIALIST SECOND CLASS WHO WAS DRIVING ALONG
AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IN CALIFORNIA, THREE DAYS INTO FOUR DAYS
OF LIBERTY AND A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES INTO HIS TRIP. HE FELT
THIRSTY. THE GOOD NEWS WAS HE HAD A WATER BOTTLE. THE BAD NEWS
WAS THAT IT WASN'T HANDY, SO HE HAD TO ROOT AROUND FOR IT.
   CONDITIONS WEREN'T BAD AT ALL. IT WAS MID-MORNING, AND HE
WAS DRIVING ON A LEVEL CURVE IN LIGHT TRAFFIC. BUT WHAT
FOLLOWED DOCUMENTS JUST HOW FAST STUFF CAN HAPPEN AT 70 MILES
PER HOUR. HE GOT DISTRACTED AND LET HIS CAR VEER LEFT. HE
OVERCORRECTED AND WENT OFF THE PAVEMENT. HIS TRUCK'S TIRES DUG
INTO SOME SAND. THE TRUCK FLIPPED AND ROLLED THREE TIMES.
   SO IT WAS BACK TO THE GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS. THE FORMER
WAS THAT, THANKS IN LARGE PART TO HIS SEATBELT, HE EMERGED
UNSCATHED. THE LATTER WAS THAT HIS TRUCK WAS WORTH $10K LESS.
B.  A HOSPITALMAN IN FLORIDA WAS MOTORING ALONG ONE AFTERNOON
WHEN, LIKE THE LS2 ABOVE, HE TRIED SOME MULTI-TASKING. THE
TASKS INVOLVED WERE FIRST, STEERING, SECOND, WATCHING THE
ROAD, AND THIRD, LIGHTING A CIGARETTE. ONE WOULD THINK THE
FIRST TWO WOULD INVARIABLY TAKE PRIORITY, BUT NOT IN THIS
CASE. TEMPORARILY, NO DOUBT, BUT JUST LONG ENOUGH TO MISS
SEEING A NISSAN TRUCK THAT WAS STOPPED TO MAKE A LEFT TURN.
THE SAILOR DIDN'T MISS HITTING IT, THOUGH.
   MORE PROOF THAT SMOKING IS BAD FOR YOU.
C.  OVERSEAS, SEVEN FOREIGN CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES WERE WAGING WAR
ON COCKROACHES IN A SEWER LINE. SIX MANHOLES GAVE THEM ACCESS
TO THE BATTLEGROUND. THEIR PRIMARY WEAPON WAS A PESTICIDE
FOGGING MACHINE. THEY PARTLY OPENED ONE MANHOLE AT A TIME,
THEN LOWERED THE MACHINE ON A ROPE DOWN TO THE COMBAT ZONE.
TWO MINUTES INTO THE DRILL ON THE FOURTH MANHOLE, SOMETHING
EXPLODED DOWN IN THE SEWER LINE. THE BLAST KNOCKED DOWN A
WORKER WHO WAS STANDING TWO FEET AWAY.
   ACCORDING TO THE MISHAP REPORT, THE PESTICIDE WAS
FLAMMABLE, MAKING IT AN "INAPPROPRIATE ITEM FOR USE."
   THE BAD NEWS WAS THAT THE WORKER SUFFERED BURNS, SCRATCHES
AND CUTS ON HIS NECK AND FACE. DOCS HAD TO FISH A LOT OF RUSTY
METAL FRAGMENTS OUT OF HIS EYES. HE WAS OFF THE JOB FOR THREE
WEEKS.
   ON THE PLUS SIDE, THAT SECTION OF SEWER WAS ABSOLUTELY
COCKROACH-FREE.
D.  AN O-1 NURSE CORPS OFFICER JOINED A TRIO OF CORPSMEN AT A
GYM FOR WHAT THE MISHAP REPORT CALLED "SOME LATE NIGHT
PHYSICAL THERAPY." AT SOME POINT, THE WORKOUT INCLUDED TRYING
TO DO 200 PUSHUPS. THERAPY THEN TURNED INTO TRAUMA, BECAUSE
DEHYDRATION COMBINED WITH OVEREXERTION PRODUCED
RHABDOMYOLYSIS. THIS IS A NASTY CONDITION IN WHICH DAMAGED
MUSCLE TISSUE RELEASES A PROTEIN INTO THE BLOODSTREAM THAT CAN
HARM THE KIDNEYS AND LEAD TO KIDNEY FAILURE.
   AMONG THE CAUSE FACTORS FOR THIS PUSHUP BINGE, THE MISHAP
REPORT LISTED THE O-1'S "COMPETITIVE NATURE" AND THE FACT THAT
THE CORPSMEN WERE "HIGHLY MOTIVATED," WHICH I THINK IS CODE
FOR "LIABLE TO DO SOMETHING NUTTY." THE O-1 MISSED THREE DAYS
OF WORK AND SPENT A MONTH ON LIGHT DUTY.
2.  THAT'S ALL FOR THIS WEEK, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. SEE YOU
NEXT TIME.//