The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is responsible for
ensuring the occupational health and safety of personnel entering
accident sites which it controls. Recent on-site accident
investigations have brought to our attention that some personnel
wishing to enter accident sites are not appropriately or adequately
equipped to be on the site.
In exercising our duty of care and in ensuring compliance with
the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth
Employment) Act 1991, you are informed that should your
personnel wish to enter an ATSB controlled accident site they must
be appropriately equipped and have a record of inoculations.
Dependent on the hazardous nature of the site, personnel may
also be required to provide evidence of having completed of a
Bio-Hazard Awareness course, which is accepted by the USA Federal
Aviation Administration or the ATSB, before being permitted to
handle anything on the site. The ATSB recognises that some aviation
professionals may have legitimate reasons for wishing to enter
accident sites. The ATSB will, as far as possible, accommodate such
requests, but has the ultimate decision over accident sites under
its control.
The following minimum current vaccination
record is required:
- Hepatitis B
- Tetanus toxoid
The following minimum Personal Protective
Equipment is required:
- Boots steel toed
- Overalls including disposable overalls
- Boot covers or gumboots (preferably steel toed)
- Latex/Nitrile/Rubber Gloves
- Leather riggers gloves
- Safety Glasses/Goggles/Face Shield
- Hearing Protection (Ear plugs)
- Hard hat
- Breathing protection apparatus
- Breathing apparatus needed may range from paper nose and mouth
guard, to a respiratory mask meeting the Australian Standard
AS1716.
Some sites may be contaminated by bio-hazards. Accordingly, in
such cases the investigator in charge has a duty of care to require
evidence of successful completion of a Blood Borne Pathegons
bio-hazard course approved by either the US Federal Aviation
Administration or the ATSB before allowing anyone onto an ATSB
controlled site.
These requirements are necessary to ensure that the ATSB meets
its statutory obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety
(Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.
Section 17 states:
An employer must take all reasonable practicable steps to
ensure that persons at or near a workplace under the employer's
control who are not the employer's employees or contractors are not
exposed to risk to their health or safety arising from the conduct
of the employer's undertaking.
Penalty: In the case of a Government business enterprise -
$100,000.