The Air We Breathe
The effects of long-term, low-level exposure to pollutants indoors need to be better understood.
Guest-author Trudy Dadd / co-author Bearnairdine Beaumont
The Synergistic Effect
Yes, indeed they do; especially the health effects of highly toxic chemicals when used in complex mixtures. This certainly needs to be fully understood, but all of this should be established before any chemical product is approved for use. Isn’t this what Government regulators and their ‘expert committees’ are supposed to do?
Over 300 different chemicals have been found in aircraft engine oil fumes to date, which can emerge as aerosols or gas in the cockpit and/or cabin, commonly known as “fume events” or “bleed-air fumes”. Sometimes there can be “smoke” present but most of the time the only indication of gaseous fumes is a smell. These smells, as anyone who has worked onboard an aircraft will confirm, are always there, sometimes more obvious than other times and can come and go at a higher intensity during the flight. Often not noticed anymore after a few minutes since our olfactory nerves get used to them.
We used to joke about the aircraft stink and called it “Eau de Boeing” or “Eau d’Airbus”, depending on which aircraft we were working on, without realising that we were inhaling toxic fumes. That distinct odour comparable to wet dogs or sweaty sneakers clung to our uniforms, hair and skin. It clings to the carpets and seat covers of the aircraft - passengers boarding can notice it first thing.
The U.K. House of Lords made an observation in 2007 with regard to pollution exposure (contaminated air) in aircraft cabins and cockpits and made several recommendations including this one:
4.50. We recommend that the AHWG-sponsored research to identify the substances produced during a fume event be completed urgently. It should be followed up by an epidemiological study on pilots to ascertain the incidence and prevalence of ill health in aircrew and any association there might be with exposure to the chemicals identified in the AHWG-sponsored study, paying particular attention to the synergistic effect of these chemicals.’1
These recommendations were not undertaken. The only research done was an air sampling study of 100 flights by Cranfield University where no fume events occurred, but which did reveal many of the harmful chemicals which are present in aircraft cabins and cockpit air, even during normal operations. Such “studies” have also been done by EASA the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which has only recently launched yet another study - handing the tender to those not independent institutes and scientists who came up with “inconclusive” results twice already. Supported by the industry…
There are no appropriate filtration systems or warning sensors onboard aircraft and no protection for passengers.
When fumes are detected by the only “sensor” onboard, the human nose, pilots can use their ‘Eros’ mask which is a completely separate system and provides a continuous supply of oxygen. This enables them to stay coherent, alert, cognitive and able to safely land an aircraft in the event of toxic fumes in the cockpit. A British Airways A380, operating flight BA286 from San Francisco to London Heathrow, callsign "Speedbird 6B Super", had to divert to Vancouver due to a “gas-like” inhalation event on board that left 20 cabin crew and passengers intoxicated. The recording begins after the "pan pan" had already been declared, as the plane dumped fuel and the crew planned for a diversion to Calgary. View Pan-Pan-Pan here.
The cabin crew have (fire) smoke hoods, which provide oxygen for around 20 minutes. These are actually meant as protection for firefighting. They are cumbersome and are impossible to reach let alone put on while seated during take-off and landing.
There is nothing onboard to protect passengers as the drop-down oxygen masks will not drop down automatically (only when a rapid decompression happens) and if they are released by the cockpit, contain a mix of cabin air - ergo contamination from the toxic fumes - and oxygen.
Exhaust fumes from ground equipment and other aircraft entering cockpits and aircraft cabins while aircraft are on the ground is a regular occurrence and as the warning (see below photo) found in a jet bridge at a Californian airport shows, these fumes are extremely harmful to human health.
It’s scientifically understood that the effects of chemicals can be cumulative with repeated or prolonged exposure, even at so-called low levels which can cause harm to humans.
The issue is that (not only the U.K.) the U.K. Government and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have not bothered to investigate the health effects of the combination of chemicals people are exposed to onboard aircraft. Some chemicals (and metals) can increase toxicity within the mixture, particularly at high temperatures such as those reached within aircraft engines.
The Government continues to use data only for each chemical individually and at normal, ambient temperatures; often they use data obtained from tests done, not from fumes but from the liquid form, in this case, cold engine oil instead of heated, to claim that the air onboard aircraft is safe.
‘The prevailing view that chemicals are safe until proven otherwise is no longer valid and all manufacturers must be required to prove the safety of their products when used in conjunction with other chemicals.’2
For aircrew, the U.K. Government have chosen the term ‘nocebo effect’ or ‘nocebo response’ to dismiss the claims of injury from exposure to toxic chemicals in aircraft.
In fact, the CAA has reinforced and re-emphasised this in more detail on its website.3
Please help us by signing this petition - way over 130’000 supporters have already signed! Go to the PETITION HERE. thank you! The petition is available in English, French, Spanish and German. (Petition U.K. is managed by Trudie Dadd).
More information about “cabin air quality events” or simply put “fume events” in aircraft and their acute and long-term health effects, medical and laboratory protocols for affected passengers and aircrew, documentaries and court cases can be found here at UNFILTERED.
https://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/chemically-induced-diseases-synergistic-effects-and-cumulative.html
https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/toxic-exposures-cumulative-effect/
https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/before-you-fly/am-i-fit-to-fly/guidance-for-health-professionals/aircraft-fume-events/