DRUG & ALCOHOL TESTING
sensitive employees (which may include all employees). The program must be submitted to and approved by the GCAA, which then issues a registration number valid for one year, which must be renewed annually. All programs are subject to audit by the GCAA just as the FAA audits mandatory programs. According to EASA, Authority, TCAA and CAA
Germany, none of the authorities require mandatory drug and alcohol testing programs, but all the administrators agreed that voluntary programs would be allowed based on ICAO’s recommendations and standards would be a great idea to increase safety. The only barrier to implementing and administering a drug and alcohol program would be a union or collective bargaining agreement.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS As you know, in 1988, the DOT and FAA set the stan- dard for drug and alcohol testing programs for the aviation industry by requiring Part 121, 135 and 91.147 operators to implement and administer drug and alcohol testing programs for safety-sensitive employees. Part 145 opera- tors providing maintenance to the operators may either be under the operators drug and alcohol testing program or implement one of its own.
INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION By 1991, eleven countries reported to ICAO encountering substance abuse in the workplace, mainly alcohol abuse. ICAO recommends implementation and administration
of drug and alcohol testing program for all countries including contracting members. The Aviation Medicine Section of the Secretariat along with an international study group published the Manual on Prevention of Problematic Use of Substances in the Aviation Workplace published in 1995 which reads: 1.18 ICAO has no cause to believe that problematic use of substances is currently widespread in civil aviation, but increasing use of psychoactive substances in society poses a threat to maintaining today’s level of aviation safety. Fortunately, while it is true that in some transportation sectors the nature and extent of alcohol and drug problems in the workplace may reflect those in the general community within the same age group, to late it appears that even in high-prevalence populations, aviation workplaces show only limited signs of such problems. It is clear, however, that active steps much be taken to protect and promote safety. 1.19 It is necessary that aviation regulators and employers
recognize that substance use is a pandemic affecting most if not all parts of the world. Aviation regulators and employers must be able to assess with accuracy not only whether a problem exists in their respective aviation environments, but also whether substance use is prevalent in the larger society surrounding those environment and their resources, States and employers should be encouraged to take the steps necessary and appropriate to prevent problematic substance use in the
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aviation workplace and thus ensure that the current high level of safety in international civil aviation is maintained. The manual focused on the following: • Education of the workforce • Identification, treatment and rehabilitation • Employment consequences of problematic use of substances • Biomechanical testing
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GENERAL CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY
On June 1, 2011, the GCAA issued the Civil Aviation Advi- sory Program (CAAP 51) which regulations require aviation companies with safety-sensitive employees to implement and administer drug and alcohol testing programs. CAAP 51 4.4(c) reads as follows: “No employee shall drink alcohol during duty time, on company property, or in a company vehicle. It is a violation of GCAA policy for any safety-sensitive employee to come to work within 12 hours of drinking alcohol.”
PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES ICAO and the GCAA have defined all illegal drugs, controlled substances and alcohol as “psychoactive substances”. Psychoac- tive substances are considered by ICAO and the GCAA as: • Alcohol • Opioids
• Cannabinoids • Sedatives and hypnotics • Cocaine and other stimulants • Hallucinogens • Volatile solvents
ICAO and GCAA do not consider tobacco or caffeine as psychoactive substances for the purposes of drug and alcohol testing programs. ICAO 1.2 reads as “In addressing the issue of problematic use of substances by aviation workers, ICAO has not focused on the legality of drug or alcohol use, not on the moral or religious concerns, that such use might raise. . . The measures recommended in this manual are, however, based on more fundamental precepts – underlying points that are constant, regardless of religion, traditions, culture and natural laws. These precepts are: - that the nature of aviation places a special responsibility on aviation workers, employers, regulators and governments to protect public safety and prevent harm;
- that any psychoactive substance has the potential for creating mental and physical problems in the user; and
- that any use of psychoactive substances which may negatively affect the performance of safety related aviation duties has the potential for doing harm.”
CAAP 51, Chapter 1 reads: The GCAA accepts that the nature of aviation places a special responsibility on aviation workers, employers, regulators and governments to protect public safety and
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