WASHINGTON-Legislation has been introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly that would overturn a fall protection provision in the state’s tower-safety standard, further keeping on hold a rule considered too onerous by the tower industry.
Had Rep. John Blust (R) not sponsored the bill, controversial requirements governing how many employees working on a tower must have first-aid and rescue training would have become effective last month.
Member companies of the National Association of Tower Erectors largely support the North Carolina tower-safety standards-the first in the nation and a possible model for federal guidelines-but argue rescue training and radio-frequency radiation frequency protection rules are unnecessarily onerous for small tower construction crews.
The North Carolina controversy aside, NATE has been at the vanguard of tower-safety efforts in the United States. The trade group partnered with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to establish in 2001 voluntary tower-safety and training for Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana. Efforts are progressing to extend the regional program to the rest of the country.
While tower construction and maintenance has been flagged by OSHA as one of the most dangerous industries in the country, North Carolina has been hit particularly hard. Nine tower-related deaths have occurred in the state in recent years.
On Feb. 25, 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 are investigating the death of John Paul Regan, who was employed by Excel Tower Services Inc. of Wilson County, N.C., at the time of the accident.
