The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA fights exclusively to improve conditions that affect the safety, health and security of flight attendants. The AFA-CWA Air Safety, Health and Security Department (ASHSD) provides full-time staff support in Washington, DC for the AFA-CWA Safety Committee chairs and members and is responsible for solving problems that cannot be solved at the carrier level.
The Flight Safety Foundation has published an article on AFA-CWA's recent passenger carry-on items survey, "Bin There Done That," in the May 2010 issue of AeroSafety World magazine. The article is an excellent summary of the survey results and includes numerous AFA-CWA members' quotes describing the many hazards of the Carry-On Crunch. You can find links to all articles in the current issue here, and a link to the carry-ons article pdf is here. For more information and ways to support limits on passenger carry-on items, go to the AFA-CWA advocacy campaign site, EndCarryOnCrunch.org.
Get educated. "The Invisible Passenger" (revised edition) has just been released. It is a comprehensive, readable, introduction to the hazards of in-flight radiation. Click here to purchase. AFA members are offered a 20% discount on the $19.95 cover price. To receive the discount go to the order form and type "AMPAFA" in the promotion box.
AFA-CWA attended a public hearing on March 31, 2010 to comment on OSHA's proposed revisions to its Hazard Communication Standard. We emphasized that our members need education and training to prevent exposure to chemicals, and also to know what to do if they are exposed and get sick. Also, manufacturers of products like engine oils and deicing fluids need to warn airlines/crewmembers of foreseeable exposures in the aircraft cabin and the attendant health risks. Currently, flight attendants lack the protections that the OSHA standard offers, and the OSHA standard is not tightly enforced. Click to read AFA-CWA's comments
On October 5, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the signing of an Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR). This new rule's purpose is to "ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is provided to aircraft passengers and crew [by] providing air carriers with a feasible way to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWRs)." Potable water supplies on U.S. airlines are jointly regulated by the EPA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In accordance with the SDWA, EPA regulates water quality in public water systems, including those that supply water to the airports and the drinking water once it's onboard the aircraft. More information is available on our new Water and Sanitation page as well as the EPA Aircraft Drinking Water Rule page.
