For a pilot, there are many risks in his working environment to which he is exposed to. A pilot while operating an airplane might be exposed to ultraviolet radiations, ambient noise, various communicable diseases etc.

The main aim of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970 was majorly towards a safer and healthier working environment that could be insured for the workers (association, 2012). The main reasons for which Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were created was for development and enforcement of health and safety norms and standards for the workplace. OSHA works to provide employers and airline industry workers with information and assistance to help create a healthy and safe working environment.Under this act it is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe and healthy workplace which is free from serious recognized hazards to all its employees.

According to Canada Labor Code (the Code) it is required that employers under federal jurisdiction provide their employees for health and safety of their lives. There are many committees for the purpose of ensuring healthier and safer working environment also there is a representative who is being appointed for the same purpose concerned to health and safety . The Canada Labor Code also provides that a health and safety officer should be appointed by the labor minister . The officer has investigation right to investigate upon the workplace conditions and various related issues towards health and safety of employees and the officer can also recommend noncompliance prosecution .

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) 1970 was created for ensuring safe and healthy working environment for all workers in The United States (OSHA, 2010) . The OSH led to the establishment of The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the purpose with authority to develop and enforce desirable standards for health and safety in the workplace. Under the OSH act there was also establishment of The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as an active Disease Control and Prevention centers. NIOSH is responsible for conducting various researches and for providing recommendations with regard to workplace for the prevention of injuries and illness.

There are many environmental hazards to which the flight deck crews are found to be exposed to, one of them is galactic radiation; which is very much harmful with exposure to higher level of altitudes and latitudes. It has been indicated by studies that there is an increase in malignancies with increasing exposure among the flight crew members.

Another hazard to which they are exposed to is ozone, which at typical flight levels might exceed the federal limits. It can even cause headaches and some kind of respiratory illness, it has even been even linked to cancer. Airborne contagious diseases if exposed to is also a health threat, which can be caused if being exposed either to passengers or to crew members and can be even caused by making use of contaminated oxygen mask. Apart from these environmental hazards, there are many operational conditions to which flight crew members might be exposed to over a period of time, that could be harmful to health. For example, for pilots combating fatigue is the matter of constant battle, in various short haul operations with mainly short flight legs (Geneva, 2013) .

It has been determined by the FAA that the workplace for on-board crew members in civil,commercial aircrafts is different significantly from the non-aviation workers’s workplace and the FAA must take up steps for setting up regulations for the purpose of addressing these concerns.

The regulations and guidance material has been issued by the FAA that affect the flight attendants workplace and the workplace of other persons for whom his workplace is an aircraft in operation. This kind of regulatory material pays attention towards addressing protective equipment of breathing for crew members; crew members’s emergency exits; seat belts for crew members ; characteristics of various materials in the workplace of crew member ; reducing noise; smoke evacuation; concentration of carbon monoxide, cabin zone and carbon dioxide; proper heating, ventilation, and pressurization; proper availability of required first aid, various medical equipment, protective gloves; and interference with the crew members to be prohibited.

FAA advisory materials also addresse the issues related to exposure to radiation of the crew members, first-aid programs in an air-carrier, and blood borne pathogens exposure. The FAA has not yet enforced regulations and adequate guidance material for addressing safety and health issues that are associated with the working conditions in an aircraft for employees, even including the flight deck crew.

The mission of FAA’s Aerospace Medicine (AAM) office is to enhance safety of aerospace through surveillance, education, medical standards, research and prevention of illness. The AAM, headed by the federal air surgeon, under the oversight of the associate administrator for aviation safety has a vision for promoting aviation safety for the American public and many people who are totally relying upon the aviation industry for business, pleasure, and commerce.

The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), of the FAA is located in Oklahoma, is an occupation, medical certification, education,research wing of Aerospace Medicine.

The FAA has developed various health standards to ensure the safety of all crew members and all people who fly. It is necessary that all aviators should be medically certified to be fit to fly; annually about a half million of medical certificates have been issued.

The FAA and OSHA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the urging of Congress in which they agreed that both the FAA and OSHA would work collectively in the airline industry to enhance their employee safety and health. Both the FAA and OSHA in the MOU have agreed to the establishment of a procedure for employees working conditions in operation in the airline. In the MOU, an aircraft has been defined by the FAA as being “in operation” from the time the first crew member boards it in preparation for flight till the time after completion of flight last crew member leaves that flight.

It has been recognized by the MOU that for the FAA and OSHA it is very important to work together in order to ensure that one agency does not block the other agency’s regulations application unnecessarily. The FAA and OSHA have been called by MOU for the establishment of a procedure for enforcing OSH through proper coordinating and supporting each other.

Act with regard to improving upon the working conditions of employees in operation in aircraft and resolving various jurisdictional questions has been required. A team of representatives of FAA and OSHA is required to identify the factors which are to be considered for determining OSH requirements that can be applied to the employees working condition on aircraft in operation .

It is required by the Congress that the FAA should promote the use of U.S. airspace in a safe and efficient way. CAMI promotes aviation safety through various number of medical education programs of aerospace.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act and Executive Order Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Federal Employees is responsible for mandating theses programs.

They even provide professional advice and advice related to technical knowledge to various federal air surgeons and various other officials of agency .

Bibliography

association, A. p. (2012). Enhancing Pilots’ Occupational Safety. Washington.

Geneva, I. l. (2013). Kenya.

OSHA, F. /. (2010). Application of OSHA’s Requirements to Employees on Aircraft in Operation.