FW: Personal Floatation Device Safety Alerts from the USCG

["Freidhoff, John" <FREIDHJJ@BuffaloState.edu>]

Below is a link to the United States Coast Guard Office of
Investigations
and Analysis web page.  There are two Safety Alerts on it that deal with
PFDs.
One conventional and one auto-inflating (for your personal boats).

Please review the alerts for your boating activities at work and at
home.

Remember, Auto-Inflatable PFDs have NOT been approved for use by any
employee of the USFWS in Region 5 while on duty.  There are clear
guidelines regarding the request to use these outlined in 241 FW 1.
Their
use must be approved by the National Service Watercraft Safety Working
Group. To my knowledge auto-inflatable PFDs have not been approved for
use
anywhere in the country for FWS personnel by this group.  One of the
reasons is because of issues like depicted in this alert.  You are going
from a fail safe model with no mechanical devices that can fail, to one
that requires a high degree of maintenance and care, with mechanical
devices that can fail.

The second alert deals with older unicellular foam life preservers.
These
are 70's vintage but you never know, you may have a few of these still
around.  Please replace them with newer models if you have any from that
era.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/moa/safea.htm

John A. Guiel
USFWS, R5
Manager of Safety and Health
Phone 413-253-8311
Fax      413-253-8451

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