Airplane cabin air quality is about to improve
Recently there have been reports that on some flights, toxic jet engine oil fumes have leaked into aircraft cabins, poisoning susceptible passengers. An expert interviewed by New Scientist observed: "Compressed air is routinely drawn off engines and supplied to aircraft cabins. If the seal inside the engine is not secure, engine oil can leak into the cabin and contaminating air with toxic tricresyl phosphate (TCP)." The two aircraft with the highest reported incidence of "reported cabin air contamination by toxic organophosphates in pyrolised engine oil fumes" are the 146/Avro RJ series [manufactured by British Aerospace/BAE Systems] and the Boeing 757."
But such hazards -- along with fears of catching a nasty virus on a flight -- may soon be a thing of the past. The Economist reports on a
which now owns this air-cleaning system now a worldwide distributor for AirManager, owns the company that originally made one of the two aircraft models most notorious for incidents of air contamination. Airplane safety blogger Learmont notes "if you had asked BAE the day before the 15 September press conference that launched this new system (called AirManager) whether contaminated cabin air was a problem, they would have said it was not - or at least not one of any significance." Learmont continues:
But such hazards -- along with fears of catching a nasty virus on a flight -- may soon be a thing of the past. The Economist reports on a
new development could help passengers and crew breathe more easily. This week two British firms—BAE Systems, a defence and aerospace giant, and Quest International, a small producer of equipment used to sanitise the air in hospitals and nursing homes—announced that they had successfully adapted Quest’s technology for use in aircraft. They make bold claims for AirManager, their new system. It can be fitted during a routine overnight service and uses less power than a light bulb, but is capable of zapping just about all the bacteria, viruses and other biohazards in cabin air—as well as destroying chemical contaminants and pollutants. And it also removes nasty smells.BAE Systems,
The rights of crew and passengers whose health has already been ruined by neurotoxin fume events have to be properly recognised....
Within a month or two of today, Professor Clement Furlong of the University of Washington, Seattle, will have identified the biomarkers that scientifically link sickness in passengers and crew to aircraft fume events. Then the industry's lawyers will no longer be able to rely on legal technicalities to avoid facing reality.
At least the launch of AirManager is a sign that reality is beginning to be faced in a practical and beneficial way.
Spirits on the Washington Mall
Apart from color correction, no photo manipulation. If the spots were not added to the image, where did they come from?
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