Work at ports and other maritime terminals is different from other jobs in many ways. The unique aspects of maritime terminal work can create some special worker safety challenges and risks. These challenges and risks sometimes lead to workers at maritime terminals suffering occupational injuries or illnesses.
Another thing that can be different for maritime terminal workers as opposed to other workers is what sorts of legal matters and issues can come up for them in relation to workplace injuries/illnesses. For example, such workers may be covered by a special law, like the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, when it comes to harms suffered on the job. So, the guidance of a lawyer knowledgeable on the unique injury-compensation-related laws and legal issues connected to maritime terminal work can be a helpful thing for a maritime terminal worker to have when they have been the victim of an occupational illness/injury.
Among the types of maritime terminal work that worker injuries/illnesses can occur in relation to is repair work. One of the things sometimes repaired at maritime terminals are cargo containers, such as intermodal containers.
Repairing damage an intermodal container has sustained can involve a range of things, including part installation, elevating a container, working from heights, painting (including spray painting), lubricant/solvent/sealant adhesive use, hot work and abrasive blasting.
Given how many different things intermodal container repair work can involve, the types of injury hazards that can arise in connection to such work can be quite varied. Examples of safety hazards that can come up in such repair work include:
- Air contaminant hazards
- Chemical hazards
- Crushing hazards
- Explosion hazards
- Fall hazards
- Fire hazards
Whatever safety hazards come up in connection to a given intermodal container repair operation, it is important for the employer of the maritime terminal workers involved in the operation to take appropriate efforts to protect their employees from the hazards and to help ensure that the hazards don’t result in workers being harmed.
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “OSHA FactSheet - Working Safely While Repairing Intermodal Containers in Marine Terminals,” Accessed June 3, 2016
