Toxic Air Syndrome
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at 12:01 by Tom Otley.
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ArthurDimlockParticipantHave you ever felt unwell either after leaving an aircraft or possibly a few days after, normally suffering from any of the following symptoms….
Feeling of drunkenness
Oh yes, but it was nothing to do with bleed air.
11 Mar 2014
at 11:10
canuckladParticipantHi folks
I had started the topic ” Are you worried about breathing “ Bleed Air”
Not realising that this thread existed, to save duplication I’ve asked for mine to be deleted.canucklad – 11/03/2014 11:03 GMT
As someone who has flown a lot and still flies reasonably frequently I was rather concerned after taking in a recent documentary… Why do we allow our airlines to poison us?
Have you ever felt unwell either after leaving an aircraft or possibly a few days after, normally suffering from any of the following symptoms….
Faintness
Lethargic
Feeling of drunkenness
Short of breath.I stumbled across a documentary the other day to do with “ Bleed air” and contamination of the cabin involving TCP used in hydraulic fluid.
It was pretty damning of airlines, aircraft manufacturers and aviation regulators for not taking seriously the health risks, including danger of incapacitated pilots caused by breathing in air that had first been pumped through the engine.
Jet engines require synthetic oils for lubrication. Airlines choose to purchase oils from BP, Shell, Mobil , these manufacturers use tricresyl phosphate (TCP), an organophosphate as an ingredient.
Long term exposure to this has apparently been proven to cause neurological damage.
The documentary also asked why airlines don’t choose to use a synthetic oil manufactured by a French company that doesn’t use TCP as an ingredient and is used by the French Air Force after they concluded that there was a risk to their pilots performance using the oil that the airlines purchase.
In the documentary they cited an incident of a Swedish crew who if they hadn’t donned their oxygen masks at the last moment, seconds later they would have been so incapacitated they would not have been able to fly their planes.
Another incident involved a British crew setting the flaps incorrectly at take-off !Apparently the industry is sweeping this under the carpet, fearing the cost of litigation.
And interestingly the 787 has been designed the old fashioned way, and passengers inhale fresh air pumped from outside avoiding the engines!
I know there are quite a lot of forum members with a medical background , your thoughts on this would be most insightful !
11 Mar 2014
at 13:20
Leonard141Participant16 August 2006
Lord Tyler asked Her Majesty’s Government: Whether they are aware of any payments made by British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Limited to Ansett Transport Industries Operations Limited and East West Airline Operations Limited, under an agreement dated 3rd September 1993, in connection with design flaws in the BAe 146 aircraft allowing contamination of cabin air by oil and other fumes; and, in light of that agreement, what steps they took at that time to ensure that regulations pertaining to cabin air quality were enforced. [HL7230]Lord Davies of Oldham: In the time available neither the Department for Transport nor the CAA have traced any knowledge of any agreements between British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Limited and Ansett Transport Industries Operations Limited and East West Airline Operations Limited or payments made to those airlines in connection with alleged design flaws leading to contamination of cabin air
16 August 2006 The Australian Senate. Located the Settlement Agreement made on the 3 September 1993. The existence of which had been denied to Lord Tyler’s House of Lord Committee and the Australian Senate inquiry
I Leonard Lawrence, a former British Aerospace company pilot, am diagnosed with brain injury and organophosphate exposure. I now have a copy of this Settlement Agreement made on the 3 September 1993. Why did my employer not inform myself and others?
11 Mar 2014
at 14:20
LuganoPirateParticipantIs there anyway of providing a link to this document Lawrence?
11 Mar 2014
at 15:12
CleancabinairParticipantThe requirement on British Airways and the CAA by April 13 to produce a report on Cabin air monitoring will be of great interest to crews and frequent fliers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11427509/Warning-over-toxic-fumes-in-plane-cabins.html
22 Feb 2015
at 14:21
LuganoPirateParticipantI would have thought BA or the CAA would have monitored the air by now. This had been in the press for some years and was first attributed to that old workhorse the BAE 146. I hope they will now monitor the air so that my mind at least will be put to rest.
23 Feb 2015
at 18:49
CleancabinairParticipantThis topic has become more prominent once again in the last few days with BASSA/Unite the union for cabin crew preparing legal action against airlines for not providing protection against contaminated air in the cabin. The air is ingested via the ‘Bleed air’ off the side of the engines before the inflow reaches the combustion chamber and is drawn off into the air-conditioning packs. With Inquest in to Richard Westgates death (A British Airways pilot) still on going there is a lot more to be revealed. The air lines are not providing adequate protection in the work environment for their own crews, thus the question needs to be asked what protection is being provided to passengers? As airlines do not currently monitor the quality of air in the cabins, the statement from British Airways that they would not fly aircraft that were not deemed to be safe would appear to be vacuous and meaningless !
10 Jun 2015
at 07:27
Tom OtleyKeymasterLinks to the programme from ITV tonight
http://www.itv.com/news/2015-06-18/pilots-family-believe-he-was-killed-by-toxic-cabin-air/
and a report in the Telegraph for those unable to view
18 Jun 2015
at 21:02
CleancabinairParticipantMany thanks Site Admin. It seems that the subject is now been given credence in the media however even now the sensitivity of the subject is causing ructions. ITV who interviewed the parents of Matt Bass who worked for BA were told by ITV not mention the employer for fear of legal and commercial penalties. It is mentioned in several media outlets that he was BA Cabin Crew!
I note both BA and the CAA have yet make any comment on the matter!19 Jun 2015
at 08:27
CleancabinairParticipantMore evidence emerging of poisoned cabin air! Time for the airlines to take action !!
http://www.thelocal.de/20160216/german-scientists-find-dangerous-gas-in-plane-cabins17 Feb 2016
at 08:42
CleancabinairParticipantMore evidence emerging ……
http://www.thelocal.de/20160216/german-scientists-find-dangerous-gas-in-plane-cabins
17 Feb 2016
at 08:43
FumeEventParticipantNew Release FUME EVENT “Aviation’s Biggest Lie” Porter Lafayette
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Porter Lafayette is the pen name of the author of this book. He has flown for over thirty-two years working for some of America’s leading original legacy carriers. His travels have taken him all over the world until he recently became too sick to continue doing the career he has done his entire life. He is a dedicated and passionate Health and Safety Aviation activist that is committed to accomplishing his life goal in obtaining a first ever comprehensive Cabin Air Quality bill for aviation in America.
This is a documentary and exposé of my own personal journey as well as that of fellow co-workers who have dealt with the deception, lies, collusion and retaliation after encountering a ‘fume event’, which is the aviation industry’s terminology for an engine wet seal ‘bleed’ affecting the aircraft breathing air which can fill the cabin with neurotoxic, visible or invisible, fumes of ‘organophosphate’ containing chemicals. This is Aviation’s Biggest Lie and it has been told for over 60 years. It is time for the flying public to know the truth. You come home from a flight and you have, quote ‘jet lag’, or you are traveling and never got sick before but suddenly you become violently ‘air sick’ onboard for no apparent reason. ‘Jet lag’ and ‘air sick’ are often the airlines ‘explanation’ and ‘excuse’ when they have actually poisoned you with leaking toxic cabin air. Once you read this book, you will never look at air travel the same way again. Knowledge is Power.
10 Aug 2016
at 20:11
TCSH11ParticipantBritish Airways warned over ‘downplaying’ toxic fume events
Britain’s largest union, Unite warned British Airways against downplaying harmful fume events on board aircraft by reclassifying them as ‘odour events’, saying that it could mean the true number of fume incidents across the airline industry is ‘far higher’.
The warning comes as more details emerge of last week’s in-flight diversion to Vancouver of the British Airways flight from San Francisco to London Heathrow because of toxic fumes entering the cabin.
The airline has described the event on 25 October 2016, which led to crew members vomiting, donning oxygen masks and being taken to hospital, as an ‘odour event’ despite exchanges between the flight crew and air traffic control stating they had an incident involving ‘toxic fumes, toxic-gas like fumes’
Unite understands that a separate fume event occurred the following day (26 October) on board a British Airways flight BA 269 from Heathrow to Los Angeles (again an A380) which the airline reportedly dismissed as an ‘odour event’. Unite understands that a full fume drill was performed on the flight deck, which would have involved crew putting on oxygen masks.
Unite, representing over 20,000 cabin crew in various airlines has been at the forefront of the campaign over cabin air quality and aerotoxic syndrome and is calling for a public inquiry into cabin air quality.
The union is also calling on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to release figures on fume incidents and investigate how airlines classify ‘fume events’, as well as urging people who have been involved in a fume event to record it on Unite’s dedicated fume register or phone its hotline number 03330 146569.
Commenting Unite director of legal services Howard Beckett said: “It is clear from all the reports we’ve received and the exchanges between the flight deck and air traffic control that the incident on board the diverted BA flight from San Francisco to London Heathrow was more serious than a mere ‘odour event’.
“Downplaying serious toxic fume events on board aircraft as ‘odour events’ smacks of spin and an attempt to manipulate official statistics to downplay how widespread the problem really is in the industry.
“Fume events and continued exposure to contaminated cabin air can lead to serious ill health with long term debilitating effects on people’s wellbeing.
“Brushing these serious incidents under the carpet is shameful and we urge the CAA to investigate and for people involved in fume events to use our register or phone our hotline.”
5 Nov 2016
at 14:36
LuganoPirateParticipantIt’s not limited to BA. Swiss had a similar problem flying Birmingham – ZRH when just before arriving the crew declared an emergency and 6 minutes later they were on the ground in Zurich.
http://avherald.com/h?article=4a026d46&opt=0
No-one was hurt and the Swiss have declared it a serious incident.
However, this was on a donkeys old, soon to be retired BaE 146, not a relatively brand new 380!
7 Nov 2016
at 06:40 -
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