When Duty Calls Region IV Goes Offshore
Victor Dricks
Senior Public Affairs Officer
Region IV
Lizette Roldan, a health physicist in the NRC’s Region IV office, is not
particularly fond of the water. But when duty called, she took a deep
breath, steeled her nerves and underwent training on how to escape from a
sinking helicopter in order to participate in a specialized inspection
program.
This offshore rig owned by Quality Inspection & Testing, Inc, was inspected by Lizette Roldan in May 2015.
“I’m actually pretty terrified of the water, but I refuse to live in
fear,” said Roldan, a tri-athlete who runs three to five miles daily to
stay in shape. “I saw this as a challenge that I could overcome.”
Roldan is one of three Region IV health physicists who periodically
fly by helicopter to inspect oil rigs in offshore federal waters on
behalf of the agency. Rick Munoz and James Thompson have also performed
offshore inspections.
Although the inspection procedures are similar for both land-based
and offshore locations, the offshore inspection program requires special
training designed to teach basic aviation safety awareness and
emergency egress procedures from helicopters that crash into the ocean.
The periodic inspections are coordinated with U.S. Department of
Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which
provides helicopter transportation to offshore platforms and barges
laying underwater piping in the Gulf of Mexico.
Most offshore inspections are of short duration but inspectors may
occasionally be required to stay overnight on the platforms for a
variety of reasons (weather, helicopter availability, extended
monitoring). The scope of inspection activities on offshore facilities
normally involves the inspection of Agreement State licensees working in
federal waters under reciprocity agreements.
Roldan underwent her
Helicopter Underwater Egress Training
at a special facility in Louisiana where she and three other trainees
were strapped into the cockpit of a helicopter simulator that was dunked
four times into a large swimming pool.
“I focus on remaining calm, that’s the most important thing,” Roldan recalled.
The first dunking was the easiest.
“I watched water fill the helicopter cockpit as it was lowered into
the pool, took a deep breath, unhooked my seat belt and with the three
other trainees swam out of an ‘open’ window to escape,” she said.
Then it got harder. The weight of a helicopter motor and its rotor
means the helicopter will likely turn upside down when sinking. The
second dunking required escape from the submerged and inverted
helicopter through a window that had to be opened from the inside. The
exercise escalated to having to coordinate escape from the submerged
inverted helicopter with three other trainees. It’s scary, but safe.
Scuba divers are present during the tests to ensure the safety of the
trainees.
Roldan also had to learn how to survive a fire on an oil platform by
jumping into the sea, show she could tread water for five minutes, form a
“survival circle” with others while awaiting rescue and fight off
sharks by kicking them in their snouts.
Obliviously, for these special NRC inspectors, it’s not just another day in the office.
