What is aerotoxic syndrome?
It is an illness caused by exposure to contaminated air in aircraft – known as a “fume event”.
Commercial passenger jets have a system that compresses air from its engines and uses it to pressurize the cabin. However, this can malfunction, causing excess oil particles to enter the supply.
The term “aerotoxic syndrome” was coined in 2001 by Dr Harry Hoffman, a former US Navy flight surgeon, Prof Chris Winder, a toxicologist at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and Jean Christophe Balouet, a French environmental forensics expert.
Whom does it affect?
Aircrew, who spend considerable periods of time on aircraft, are the most vulnerable, according to experts. Some frequent travellers who are genetically susceptible to the toxins could fall ill.
Just how worried should we be?
Most airlines say we have no cause for concern. They cite independent studies commissioned by the Department for Transport which found “no evidence that pollutants occur in the cabin air at levels exceeding available health and safety standards”.
A KLM study into air quality in aircraft cockpits in December 2013, prompted by a court ruling in a case between a pilot and the airline, found that TCP – a neurotoxin – was present only “in minimal concentrations in aircraft cockpits”.
But campaigners insist we should be concerned about the problem and that airlines need to act urgently. The International Transport Workers’ Federation says there is growing evidence of the toxicity of the oil fumes, warning that contaminated air poses a “flight safety and worker health hazard”.
How can you tell if cabin air is contaminated?
A slight leakage of oil into the cabin can sometimes be detected by an odour that has been described as similar to sweaty socks, wet dog or vomit, according to the Aerotoxic Association, a campaign group. If a “fume event” occurs, bluish haze or smoke in the cabin may be visible. There are no chemical sensors in modern jet aircraft.
What action is being taken?
British Airways (BA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have been given until April 13 to respond to a coroner’s “prevention of future deaths report”.
Stanhope Payne, the senior coroner for Dorset, who was investigating the death of BA pilot Richard Westgate in December 2012, said he was concerned about “the presence in his body of organophosphate toxins that are present in aircraft cabin air”.
He has told BA and the CAA that people in aircraft cabins are exposed to these toxins with consequential damage to their health, and noted that there are currently no systems in place for monitoring cabin air. Separately, the International Transport Federation’s (ITF) air quality working group is due to meet this week to discuss the problem of contaminated air on commercial aircraft and at airports.
Story and photos: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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