B-roll - Medical Check-ups

19 August, 2020 / Read time: 1 minute

The ALMA staff spend most of their time at the Operations Support Facility (OSF) at 2,900m, but some of them must work on the antenna maintenance and relocations at the Array Operations Site (AOS) at 5,000m altitude.
Among the measures taken by ALMA to reduce the effects of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) on staff are the mandatory use of portable medical oxygen for all workers performing tasks over an altitude of 3,000 meters, permanent oxygenation of the AOS technical building, and constant on-site monitoring by the observatory’s medical team. On top of that, ALMA is carrying out other studies in collaboration with international and Chilean universities to improve of the blood oxygen level among high-altitude-experienced workers, while developing a special diet and exercise program.