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From page 75... ... 4 Risk Acceptance and Responsibilities in Human Spaceflight and Terrestrial Activities Society demonstrates a willingness to tolerate high levels of risk to individuals who participate in certain types of activities. Every day, firefighters, law enforcement officers, other first responders, and military service members put their lives and health at risk in defense of persons, property, national security, or other compelling public interests. Read the entire page →
From page 76... ... 76 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT operations, repairs, retrievals, and research (such as medical experiments) Read the entire page →
From page 77... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 77 RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE WORKPLACE Efforts to protect the welfare of workers in the United States have been documented since the late 19th century and have led to significant improvements in worker health protections. As described by some in the literature, occupational health regulations and standards "aim to promote and maintain the highest degree of physical[,] Read the entire page →
From page 78... ... 78 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT stantial risk to the short- and long-term health of individuals during ground-based training and during missions, due to numerous uncertain or uncontrollable variables. The space environment includes unique and sometimes unpredictable hazards, including prolonged isolation, reliance on a closed environment, limited basic resources, and high levels of radiation (IOM, 2001) Read the entire page →
From page 79... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 79 places in nuclear energy and weapons manufacture, mining, railroad, and aviation) Read the entire page →
From page 80... ... 80 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT Health Standards One mechanism by which to manage occupational risk includes health standards, which are subject to revision based on new scientific data and require ongoing assessment. As discussed in Chapter 2, health standards may be used to protect workers; guide design, research, and engineering activities; stimulate innovation; serve as criteria for job requirements; and provide a condition for collaborative efforts. Read the entire page →
From page 81... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 81 sion. For example, NFPA has set health standards that apply to both firefighter candidates as well as incumbents (i.e., current members within a profession) Read the entire page →
From page 82... ... 82 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT plement engineering and work practice controls (including administrative controls) to meet the exposure level, factoring in feasibility.10 Respirators must be used to supplement engineering and work-practice controls when these are insufficient to reduce exposure below the PEL. Read the entire page →
From page 83... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 83 ceptable" risk, as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court, leaves ample room for philosophical debate. Read the entire page →
From page 84... ... 84 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT six months after being hired" and then 3 years later to screen for pneumoconiosis (CDC, 2014) Read the entire page →
From page 85... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 85 develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge." 20 Biomedical research is often the focus of scrutiny because it can pose significant risk to the health and well-being of research participants and "its findings can have important implications for health" (IOM, 2002a, p. Read the entire page →
From page 86... ... 86 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT Regulations for Research Involving Human Participants Although the committee was not tasked with establishing an ethics framework to govern astronauts as research participants in space,21 federal regulations governing human participation in research provide some of the best understood and accepted examples of ethics principles that govern risk exposures to individuals. Building upon key documents describing ethical research conduct,22 the U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 87... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 87 participant safety, and ensure adequate protections of participant privacy and data confidentiality.27 Specific types of high-risk research may require continuous monitoring and review of study data to protect participant health and safety. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Read the entire page →
From page 88... ... 88 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT iar environments includes deep sea diving, which includes commercial, scientific, and recreational operations. Like astronauts, divers are exposed to a variety of health hazards, such as asphyxiation, respiratory and circulatory problems, hypothermia, and physical injury. Read the entire page →
From page 89... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 89 or under the control of a governmental agency."36 This language reflects OSHA's determination "that safety and health regulation of the police and related functions are best carried out by the individual States or their political subdivisions" (OSHA, 1977, p. Read the entire page →
From page 90... ... 90 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT high-risk activities (DoD, 2011) Read the entire page →
From page 91... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 91 exceeding 50 REM, responders must be "fully aware" of acute and chronic cancer risks related to the exposure (FEMA, 2008, p. Read the entire page →
From page 92... ... 92 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT draw conclusions. However, when taken as a whole, the examples include some common ethical norms embedded within decisions about risk in terrestrial settings, which parallel many of the factors described by the NRC. Read the entire page →
From page 93... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 93 the negative impacts of actual injury or illness resulting from job-related activities. In rare cases, including exposures to hazards during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup, the threat of actual harm led to additional research and monitoring responsibilities on behalf of the government (NIEHS, 2014b) Read the entire page →
From page 94... ... 94 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT how decisions about risk acceptance are made. Although similar to potential benefits, activity purpose is distinct. Read the entire page →
From page 95... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 95 trol or custody of another,40 or if a fiduciary duty exists (Easterbrook and Fischel, 1993) Read the entire page →
From page 96... ... 96 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT ogy, the economics of improvements in relation to state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, and other societal and socioeconomic considerations."43 SUMMARY In its task to look for analogs and models of how other occupations and efforts deal with uncertain health risks and risk management decisions, the committee found a lack of explicit frameworks but a variety of examples from terrestrial settings that inform deliberations about health standards for long duration and exploration spaceflights. Many of the efforts are focused on avoiding harm to workers and others who are willing to take risks to protect society. Read the entire page →
From page 97... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 97 Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation and Municipal Workers Compensa tion Fund, Inc. No date. Read the entire page →
From page 98... ... 98 LONG DURATION AND EXPLORATION SPACEFLIGHT FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Read the entire page →
From page 99... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 99 Lang, M Read the entire page →
From page 101... ... RISK ACCEPTANCE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 101 Williams, R Read the entire page →

From page 75...

... 4 Risk Acceptance and Responsibilities in Human Spaceflight and Terrestrial Activities Society demonstrates a willingness to tolerate high levels of risk to individuals who participate in certain types of activities. Every day, firefighters, law enforcement officers, other first responders, and military service members put their lives and health at risk in defense of persons, property, national security, or other compelling public interests.