20 August 2003
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.
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