Seguridad en Alta Montaña: la experiencia en el Teleférico más alto del mundo

Abstract

This research was conducted in the vicinity of the construction of the new Mérida Cable Car (Mukumbarí) located in the city of Mérida, Mérida state, Venezuela. Its first station, called Barinitas, is located at 1,600 meters above sea level, and its high mountain altitudes range from 4,200 meters to 4,765 meters above sea level. These are the Loma Redonda and Pico Espejo stations, respectively. The purpose of this is to analyze the trends in the statistical records kept during the construction work, not only on associated pathologies and their causal relationship, but also their link to the hypoxic work environment in high mountains, work organization, means and object of work among other aspects of an unprecedented nature, experienced from the preliminary works in 2010 until delivery in 2016. In addition to the statistical record, not only the physical or physiological changes in the personnel can be related, a behavioral change related to thermal stress, lack of oxygen and mountain environment was also appreciated, supported by studies carried out theoretical bases of journals and research work carried out in the world. Among the most notable aspects that yielded outstanding results in the project's preventive management, morbidity records revealed common pathologies in these environments, such as acute mountain sickness, hypoxia, digestive syndromes, increased metabolic rate, and increased physical fatigue. Prevention was supported by mountain medicine. In addition to the aforementioned variables, the mental demands caused by high-level physical, environmental, and mechanical risk factors, as well as the architectural design of the stations or buildings, represented a significant challenge for the transportation of materials, personnel transportation, camp accommodations, food logistics, sanitation services, waste management, emergency medical care, and medical supply inventory management. These special conditions in hypoxic altitude conditions and hypothermic environments with particular meteorological conditions, UV radiation, and winds of up to 80 km/h, were also present.