STANDARDS FOR HEARING HEALTH MONITORING OF AIRPORT GROUND HANDLING OPERATORS WORKING IN ENVIRONMENTS WITH EXCESSIVE NOISE LEVELS - CURRENT STATUS OF LEGISLATION IN THE USA AND THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
Keywords:
legislation, noise, auditory analyzer, airports, health monitoringAbstract
Noise is one of the leading risk factors of the work environment for airport ground handling workers. Noise above 85 dB(A) causes a variety of functional and structural impairments, reduces work capacity, makes it difficult to communicate verbally and monitor sound signals from the environment and work environment, thus indirectly affecting flight safety. Noise has a direct specific impact on the auditory analyzer and leads to a number of functional and degenerative changes that can be established during an audiometric hearing test. The purpose of the report is to make a comparative analysis of the legislative framework in the field of health monitoring of the auditory analyzer for airport ground handling operators working in an environment with excessive noise levels in the USA and the Republic of Bulgaria; to bring out good practices and examples, to make generalized conclusions of practical importance regarding the implementation of legislation in the researched area. A comparative study and analysis of legislation and hearing screening standards for workers at occupational noise levels above 85 dB(A) was conducted. The methods used are normative, documentary, formal-logical with analysis of official documents and data. The results of the comparative analysis show identity in the general legislative framework of the Act on Health and Safety at Work in Bulgaria and the Act on Health and Safety at Work in the USA, both laws introducing the general principles of prevention and obliging employers to provide health and safety conditions of workers' labor, including free preventive medical examinations with audiometric hearing tests for workers exposed to excessive noise. The difference between the two countries is that the US has introduced health screening standards and the Hearing Conservation Program for workers exposed to excessive noise, which also includes airport ground handling operators. In Bulgaria, the rules regarding the health screening of hearing for those working at excessive noise levels are not clearly regulated by law, there are no standards, which makes it difficult for doctors specializing in occupational medicine and aviation medicine. Early detection of hearing analyzer changes in airport ground handling operators exposed to excessive noise, hearing prevention and health monitoring should be the responsibility and obligation of every employer and a priority of every national legislation.
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