Stress in air traffic controllers: effects of ARTS-III.

Physiological, biochemical, and psychological assessments of stress in air traffic controllers were made at Los Angeles (LAX) and Oakland (OAK) Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities before and after installation of Automated Radar Terminal Systems-III (ARTS-III). Heart rates of controllers on duty or at rest scarcely changed from before to after ARTS-III installation. Total stress increased at both TRACONs, and the increase was entirely due to elevated catecholamine excretion. Steroid excretion was significantly reduced at both facilities after ARTS-III had no appreciable effect on work-related anxiety levels of controllers. The post-ARTS-III A-State means for both facilities were not significantly elevated. A-Trait was unchanged at LAX but decreased significantly at OAK. Assessments of A-State showed significant work-related increments but tended to be low. There were no correlations between anxiety and physiological data.