Since the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) is located in extremely high altitude (5,640 m.a.s.l.), safety management is one of the most important issues for the project. We have developed safety management program for work at the site in order to prevent medical illness for humans. In this program all staff have to take medical examinations such as Electrocardiogram and Hipobaria before their work starts. The results are reviewed by medical doctor. Only authorized staff can be permitted to work at the site. During stay in site, all staff need to always use oxygen supply because there is only half of the oxygen at the site. It is also important to understand physical workload at the site. Our safety staff reviews it and determines necessary resting time for each worker, e.g. great load works need to work 50 minutes and rest 10 minutes. In addition to low air pressure, very low temperature, extremely high UV radiation, and extremely dry atmosphere should be concerned. Our program requests all staff to use winter clothes, sunblock and UV protection sunglasses and a lot of potable water consumption. Keep communication is also very important to secure the safety. Normal telephone communication is not available as well as internet connectivity. We have established satellite communication as well as UHF internal communication for general works and safety coordination with other observatories in Atacama area.
One of remarkable features of the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) is an altitude of the site (5,640 m.a.s.l.) While this provides us an excellent condition for astronomical observations, the site development is attended with difficulty due to the hard conditions such as low pressure, low temperature, and limited access. Site preparation for the TAO 6.5 m telescope started in Apr. 2018. Firstly, we have constructed an access road from Pampa la bola plateau (~ 5,000 m.a.s.l) to the summit. It has a width of < 6.5 meter for transportation of telescope parts including the 6.5meter mirror. In order to prevent collapse, angle of side slope is carefully determined based on ground condition and frozen soils. All workers always use oxygen during their work as a measure against hypobaropathy. Since the site temperature in night is lower than 0 degree even in the summer season, it is difficult to ensure quality of foundation concrete if we cast it in-situ. We use pre-cast concrete for the foundation of the telescope, the enclosure, and the support building. The biggest part is the telescope foundation. It has a weight of 600 ton. Considering the transportation to the summit, it is divided into 43 parts and unified at the summit. This is a new trial to make a massive foundation for a large telescope with pre-cast concrete.
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