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Airline staff around the world are concerned about the effects on health and safety of lubricant fumes leaking into aircraft cabins. In Australia a Senate Committee reported in October 2000, concluding that there is indeed cause for concern.
I have been a passenger on one of the problem planes in Australia. The smell was indescribable - an appalling mix of rubber and vomit. Unfortunately, the problem is not just aesthetic ....
Quotes from the Senate report
Links to Hansard transcripts of Senate Committee hearings
Media reports from 1999 onwards (Australia, USA, Canada
and UK)
Links
Some quotes from the Report:
The Committee received submissions from several medical and occupational health professionals supporting claims by flight crew that exposure to fumes on BAe 146 aircraft resulted in deterioration of their health. [3.1]
One medical professional, Dr Robert Loblay, gave evidence to the Committee arguing that there are no health effects as a result of exposure to fumes. Unfortunately, his evidence consisted largely of attacking the personal and professional integrity and status of other witnesses (3.3)
[Dr Loblay was the major author of the text of the CFS Draft Guidelines]
It has been put to the Committee that symptoms of toxicity from fumes are not only caused by chemical exposure but may be "… exacerbated by the hypoxia of cabin pressure, other chemical exposures (such as carbon monoxide), temperature, humidity, workload or pre-existing health conditions." This phenomenon is described by some in the medical profession as "aerotoxic syndrome" and is now a specialist area for medical and occupational health research." (3.14)
In his evidence to the inquiry Dr Chris van Netten noted that:
The most sensitive people get sick first and they are your early warning signs of a potential problem. Often these people are looked upon as hypochondriacs or complainers or whatever else, and this is doing the system an injustice because it is actually quite dangerous to not pay attention to these people. They are really your early warning signs that something is wrong ..... (3.73)
[Dr Chris van Netten is Chair, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of British Columbia]
Transcripts of the hearings of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee into "Air safety - BAe 146 cabin air quality" are available in PDF from the Parliament House website. Browse the list of transcripts for 1999 and 2000 (the enquiry started on 1 November 1999 and ran through to 1 May 2000).
Of particular interest:
01/11/99 Canberra
- including witness Assoc.Prof Chris Winder (School of Safety Science,
Uni of NSW)
01/02/00 Sydney
- including witnesses Dr Mark Donohoe, Dr Robert Loblay, Dr Richard Teo
14/03/00 Canberra
- Dr Chris van Netten from University of British Columbia (Associate
Professor, Faculty of Medicine; Chair, Division of Occupational and Environmental
Health, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology; faculty member, School
of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene)
[These are all PDF FILES]
Stories from Australian ABC TV 7:30 Report
2/11/99: Safety concerns
over passenger jets
01/02/2000: Conflicting
advice stalls air safety hazard inquiry
2/02/00: Whistle-blowing
pilot still flying suspect planes
30/04/2003: Claim
National Jet fleet compromising staff safety
On 30 April 2003, the ABC's 7.30 Report told the story of pilot
Nevin Pavlinovich (? sp) sacked by National Jet Systems (operating for Qantas)
because they could not guarantee him a safe working environment. He had experienced
the all-too-familiar effects of toxic cabin fumes, and the GP the airline sent
him to had warned these could become chronic with continued exposure. The airline's
response was to terminate his employment. Pavlinovich has brought an unfair
dismissal case against the airline.
Pavlinovich had been keeping records of health and safety incidents caused by cabin fumes, and he had threatened to make these public. His union claims this is the real reason he was sacked. The airline is now saying that by not reporting these incidents Pavlinovich was in breach of his obligations - but the union claims the opposite is true, that he and other airline staff have been under pressure not to report such incidents to the air safety bureau CASA.
An example of ongoing health and safety problems was given in the TV report: on 1 November 2002, both pilots on a flight to Kalgoorlie were affected by fumes. The plane was landed safely but the situation was described as "an accident waiting to happen". The incident was not reported to CASA, who didn't find out about it until it was raised in the Senate by WA Senator Sue Knowles, who has taken up the aircrews' case.
Other media reports:
Qantas has problems with cabin vapours
The World Today
- (ABC RADIO NEWS) Thursday, October 10, 2002
Professor Chris Winder, who gave evidence to the Senate Enquiry into cabin air quality on BAe 146 passenger planes, has now published a study in the Journal of Occupational Health and Safety on health problems experienced by pilots and cabin crew working on the aircraft. ABC Radio reported that the research found "problems ranging from headaches to brain impairment"
Professor Winder told the ABC:
"The exposures varied from a smell for example, baby sick, old cheese or old socks, through to thick black smoke that obscured all but a few rows of seats. But mainly it was either a smell or a blue haze in the cabin"
and effects included
"Headaches, memory defects, chemical sensitivity, fatigue".
These are the same health effects reported to the Senate Enquiry in 2000. The Enquiry found that the fumes were causing at least some health problems, and recommended that any planes that were leaking should be grounded until they were fixed. It criticised CASA for not talking the issue seriously.
Predictably, both Qantas and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority maintain that Prof. Winder's research doesn't prove the fumes are a hazard. A Qantas spokesman told the ABC that they have managed to reduce the incidence of leaking hydraulic fluid by 30%, but there could be other reasons for their flight staff getting sick. The Pilot's Federation is still pushing for action.
It was also reported that Ansett flight attendant Judy Cullinane had reached an out of court settlement with the airline, after she had to give up work due to the effects of exposure to toxic cabin fumes. (See this press release from the Aviation Organophosphate Information Site.)
Laurie Cox of the Australian Federation of Pilots told the ABC:
"The seals have been breaking down on the aircraft engines and leaking into the air conditioning ducts. The oil is then burning and that's what creating the vapours."
There have been similar reports of toxic fumes causing ill health among pilots and cabin crew in Europe and the USA. Other types of planes with these problems are DC-9s and MD-80s . In Alaska, a group of flight attendants took legal action against their employers, Alaskan Airlines, as well as the manufacturerers of the aircraft and its engines. The airline settled out of court without admitting responsibility, but the flight attendants went on to lose their action against the planes' makers in May 2001.
Ansett flight attendant wins toxic-fumes settlement
AAP quoted by
travelbiz.com.au 2 August 2002
. . . A five-year legal fight by Judy Cullinane, 37, ended this week when she won an out-of-court settlement with Ansett insurers . . . Cullinane says she became seriously ill in November 1997 during a three-day stint aboard a British Aerospace 146 aircraft. Her condition allegedly worsened during another flight the following year, when she required oxygen, and she was eventually forced to stop work. In her writ, she alleged the air-conditioning system on the BAe146 was improperly sealed, allowing vapours from oil and hydraulic fluids to enter the cabin of the aircraft . . .
Jury rules against flight attendants in toxic-air
suit
Seattle Times May 21,
2002
"Ending a long-running legal battle, a King County Superior Court jury yesterday rejected the claims of 26 current and former Alaska Airlines flight attendants who maintained they had been seriously sickened by toxic leaks fouling the air of MD-80 jet cabins.
". . . The verdict in the 11-week trial left some flight attendants in tears. They had pursued the case for years, arguing it raised questions about cabin air throughout the industry.
"But lawyers for the companies [AlliedSignal, manufacturer of the APU, and McDonnell Douglas, the
plane's maker] said the verdict showed the plane and the mechanism, called the auxiliary power unit, or APU, were safe. . . . The companies contended that although there were leaks, including some traced to a defective seal, they were so infrequent and the level of the chemicals so small that the instances couldn't be traced to the health problems.". . . Randy Gordon, the lead attorney for the flight attendants, told his clients that the jury had not found they weren't sick. The jury simply couldn't find, as a matter of law, that their illnesses were connected to the way the APU and plane were built, he said. "I maintain that the truth is out," Gordon said.
". . . Alaska Airlines was not a defendant in the trial, having settled with the flight attendants for $725,000 last year without admitting responsibility. "
Verdict expected soon on toxic air aboard jets
Byron Acohido in USA Today (9 May 2002):
Last year, the Alaska flight attendants won a $725,000 out-of-court settlement from Alaska Airlines, and now they're going after two of the nation's biggest companies: Boeing and Honeywell.The plaintiffs contend both companies have known for decades that the MD-80 and DC-9 have design flaws that make it easy for leaking chemical fluids to get sucked into the auxiliary power unit, or APU, and mix with cabin air. The APU is a small turbine engine used to generate electricity and circulate cabin air before takeoff.
. . . The lawsuit is believed to be the first to assert that an aircraft maker is responsible for the quality of the air breathed by passengers and airline crews. Jets built in the 1980s and since use 50% recirculated cabin air, instead of 100% outside air, as earlier models do.
. . . The Alaska flight attendants point to evidence the problem goes well beyond their airline's jets. A July 1996 Alaska Airlines maintenance document, introduced during the trial, identifies 15 other airlines reporting instances of "fluids entering APU air intake" on DC-9s and MD-80s and resulting in "associated passenger/crew complaints including illnesses." Among the most well-known airlines cited were Alitalia, American, Swissair, TWA and US Airways.
. . . During the past 10 weeks, a dozen physicians and medical experts have testified for the plaintiffs that the flight attendants' central nervous systems have been damaged by exposure to organophosphates, a class of chemicals used in hydraulic fluid and jet engine lubrication oil. Organophosphates are used in pesticides and nerve gas.
Alaska settles suit over cabin air
Seattle Times 25 Jan
2001
Alaska Airlines has agreed to pay $725,000 to settle a lawsuit by 26 flight attendants who alleged they were sickened by toxic leaks that fouled the air of jet cabins.
The confidential settlement ends a long-running dispute between 26 flight attendants and the airline over the quality of cabin air in Alaska's MD-80 airplanes.
....The flight attendants will continue to pursue legal claims against MD-80 maker McDonnell-Douglas, now owned by Boeing, and AlliedSignal, the manufacturer of a part at the center of the controversy. AlliedSignal is now owned by Honeywell.
....The flight attendants claimed the airline had failed to warn them about a serious workplace hazard, alleging that chemicals in the fluids used on Alaska jets causes neurological impairment.
....As part of the settlement, Alaska [Airlines] agreed not to try to recover any worker's compensation already paid to flight attendants. The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court in 1998, grew out of complaints from more than 900 flight attendants that they had suffered unexplained sickness aboard Alaska flights during the past 10 years. The symptoms included headaches, tremors and impaired mental abilities.
....Some Alaska mechanics, many of whom dated or were married to flight attendants, suspected that hydraulic fluid and lubrication oil were leaking from a part called the auxiliary power unit, or APU, and being pumped into the cabin air through ventilation systems.
Designed and manufactured by AlliedSignal, the APU is a small turbine tucked into the tail cone.
Pilots activate the APU on the ground to supply electrical power and pump air into the cabin. During flight, the APU typically is switched off and the jet engines supply power and cabin air.
MPs hit out over oil fumes in jets
Extract from a story by Josh Gordon in the Melbourne
Age, 13 Oct 2000
A parliamentary report has attacked the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for failing to act on oil fumes infiltrating some jets. The report was produced by a Senate committee after an inquiry initiated in July last year. It ... criticised the authority for dismissing concerns about the aircraft raised by its own staff ...The inquiry heard that flight crew had suffered headaches, vomiting, weakness, breathing problems, tremors, loss of consciousness and partial paralysis after alleged exposure to fumes in BAe-146 jets.
Committee chairman John Woodley said he found the evidence provided by CASA and the aircraft manufacturer, British Aerospace, that the aircraft was safe "unconvincing". "The problem is described by some specialists as aerotoxic syndrome and warrants further extensive clinical and technical investigation," Mr Woodley said.
Air crews fear toxic leak effects
BBC News Online 28 September 2000: Article describing the BBC Radio
environment program "Costing the Earth" report on the toxic cabin
leaks. One British pilot had told the program's presenter, Alex Kirby,
that he was beginning to experience short term memory loss:
"Every time I flew a plane I got influenza-like symptoms, including being bunged up in the head after about half an hour of flight. I frequently found myself feeling so poorly that I couldn't tell my first officer how bad I felt. I was becoming very tired, and suffering an increasing number of anxiety attacks."
This pilot was grounded for three months, but as soon as he started flying again his symptoms returned. The suggestion is made that the chemicals causing the symptoms are organophosphates:
Bruce D'Ancey, the technical secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, is concerned at the possible implications of lubricants using OPs, highly toxic chemicals already blamed for causing neurological damage in farmers and other people. He says: "What we are in is a situation where we have OPs in engine oil, a known method by which they can enter the cabin through the compressor system, and we know they are hazardous to health. That should surely be enough to cause an investigation."
The program reported that the House of Lords was looking into the problem, and the British Environment Minister had also announced an enquiry.
Secretly searching Alaska Airlines records, employees
find evidence of toxic leaks
Seattle Times, June 20, 1999
... maintenance documents show a continuing pattern of leaking fluids, particularly on Alaska's 38 MD-80s. And even while the airline has assured its employees that the leaks pose no health threat, it has been scrambling behind the scenes to fix the problem.
The airline acknowledges receiving some 1,600 reports of "unexplained illness" from crew members and passengers in the past decade ......while the problem appears to be worst on MD-80s because of their design, Knowles [union attorney] asserts it has occurred also on Boeing 727s, 737s, 747s and 767s; Airbus A320s; McDonnell Douglas DC-9s and DC-10s; and British Aerospace BAe 146s.
Lubricant oils mentioned are Chevron Hyjet IV-A and Mobil Jet Oil 254.
Airline attendants very sick, and why is a mystery
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 26, 1999
For 10 years, Alaska Airlines flight attendants have complained that the air they breathe at work is making them sick. ....The flight attendants blame a range of maladies -- headaches, goiters, tremors and lost mental abilities -- on toxic fumes they believe are created by hydraulic fluid in airliner ventilation systems. And they say most of their problems occur on MD-80 jetliners, which are the backbone of Alaska's West Coast service.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer article also mentions that Canadian flight attendants have made similar complaints about the BAe 146 as their Australia colleagues. Another article in the same paper about the Alaska Airlines incidents says the cabin crew used to call the symptoms "'Skypoxia".
The Aviation Organophosphate Information Site - lots of technical detail, plus links to media reports and more. Includes Airborne chemicals in aircraft cabins - a presentation by Jean Christophe Balouet and Chris Winder.
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last revised 21 February 2004