OSHA and EPA Regulations in Aviation

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA was created in 1970 to ensure the safety of workers and provide healthful working conditions at their job site. OSHA basically covers all employers and employees who operate in the United States except those workplaces already covered by other federal agencies under other federal statutes. When it comes to aviation, OSHA’s standards are noticeable under a company’s safety program. For instance, while working on a flightline, protective equipment such as steel toe boots, safety glasses, hearing protection and other items are required in accordance with OSHA safety standards. OSHA also requires periodic hearing testing for those that operate in a high noise environment. There are additional guidelines set forth by OSHA to identify methods for handling hazardous chemicals such as jet fuel, deicing fluid, battery maintenance and disposal, hydraulic fluids and more. With the hazard communication standard, all employees who may come in contact with hazardous chemicals must be trained with its appropriate use. A material safety data sheet or MSDS is required to be on site for easy access. It lists all the chemicals on site, their composition and how to treat if they come in skin contact or ingested. All chemicals must be properly stored and labeled correctly as well. OSHA regulations have a direct impact on ground safety operations. These standards ensure that all employees are notified of the risks and steps are taken to minimize negative consequences at the work center.
The Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970. The EPA was created to allow government action on behalf of the environment. The EPA is primarily concerned with regulating the disposal of hazardous chemicals into the environment. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act has the most direct impact on aviation when it comes to the EPA. Many areas of aviation fall under this category; such as aircraft cleaning and painting, spills and leaks from fuel systems and storage tanks, leaking acid from aircraft batteries, glycol used for deicing and others. Speaking from personal experience, the EPA had issued a cleanup order for McGuire AFB in 2007. It was found waste was improperly disposed at dump sites, underground fuel system hydrants were leaking into the underground water supply, and many other violations. If memory serves me correctly, there were over 30 areas of the base on the EPA’s red flag list. Even though it should have never reached that point to begin with, the order had a direct impact on the day to day operations at the base. Simple aircraft servicing tasks were drawn out longer than they had been previously; which in the end resulted in affecting aircraft turnaround times.