Meet NATCA’s “Wonder Twins”: The OSHA Reps Leading Hurricane Response Efforts

Nov 12, 2024

Natural Disasters affect our workplaces and personal lives simultaneously. That's why NATCA's Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Representatives are technically savvy and relentless in ensuring the buildings in which NATCA members work get the attention they need in emergency response.

While it is no laughing matter, when it comes to hurricane response, Mark Sellek, NSO OSHA Rep and OSHA Committee Vice Chair, and Deb Stewart, NSW OSHA Rep and NATCA Academy Instructor, are what the OSHA Committee lightheartedly call the "Wonder Twins." They earned this badge of honor because of their commitment and dedication to working tirelessly through these major events, completing damage reports and coordinating responses to keep NATCA members safe in their workplaces, and helping keep the National Airspace System (NAS) safe.

Hurricanes hit the Southern and Southwest regions multiple times a year, and Sellek and Stewart have become the OSHA committee's experts on hurricane response. They reach out and help each other attend endless FAA preparatory, update, and recovery telephone conferences. They provide updates to the OSHA Committee Chair and elevate issues as needed, engage others in the committee for assistance, and have become weather "nerds," working to ensure they are truly ready for whatever may come.

So, what kinds of things do the OSHA Reps do after a storm or weather event? They reach out to facility representatives, coordinate plans for evacuations, assess damage, interpret water intrusion and other building assessments, engaging their management counterparts, quickly elevating issues when needed, coordinating with their regional NATCA leadership teams and providing whatever assistance they can, all while prepping their own homes and families and facilities to literally weather the storm. Sellek even created a checklist for reps to use and pass information efficiently for recovery.

When a storm hits, the best things you can do for your facility's recovery are:

1. Call your Regional OSHA Rep.
2. Participate in any damage assessment and engineering assessment walkthroughs and send reports to your OSHA Rep.
3. Work with Tech Ops to ensure all building materials are dried within 48 hour.
4. Request Indoor Air Quality evaluations when needed and send reports to your OSHA Rep.
5. When water quality is in question, request testing, witness the testing and send the results to your OSHA Rep.

Learn more about the OSHA Committee here.