Aerotoxic Syndrome: Unprotected Flight Crews And Passengers

Unprotected Flight Crews And Passengers
Aerotoxic Syndrome: The Silence Continues

by BEARNAIRDINE BEAUMONT, "Take-Off: Aviation's Wounded Canaries", 21 Nov. 2023

image ©aerotoxic.org

The problem of cabin air contamination in airliners, which can make flight crews seriously ill, has been known for decades. But the airlines are still playing down the health and safety risks.

Last March, in front of Jetblue's head office in New York, dozens of flight attendants chanted: "Fume events are real!” It was an unprecedented demonstration, designed to sound the alarm about the incidents of fumes, known as "fume events", that occur on board aircraft.

They generate unpleasant odors, contaminate the air and, as MEDIAPART has detailed, cause a range of neurological and respiratory symptoms and disabling disorders in aircrew, known as aerotoxic syndrome.

"The American Aviation Federation and aircraft manufacturers are ignoring this health risk, even after reports of crews falling ill", says Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat senator from Connecticut, who also introduced a bill for the third time in March calling for training and protection for passengers.

Fume events are still a little-known phenomenon among the general public, as the aviation industry keeps such incidents under wraps. For almost seventy years, airlines and manufacturers have been trying to downplay the consequences for the health of their crews and flight safety. Firstly, by invoking the "rarity" of these events: one in every two thousand flights, according to the aviation industry. Secondly, by systematically refuting the long-term effects of exposure to contaminated air.

The 'omerta*' reigns over what aircrew refer to as the "shameful little secret" of world aviation. Yet the source of the smoke events is well identified: it is the pressurization and air-conditioning system used on virtually all commercial aircraft. The air circulating on board is drawn in via the jet engine compressors and arrives unfiltered in the cabin. Leaky or worn engine seals inevitably lead to leaks of oil, which, when heated to very high temperatures, releases many toxic substances.

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