Last month i attended a conference titled ‘Cabin Air’. I didn’t know what to expect, but as it was nearby and wellness is a topic of interest to me, I though it might be worth discovering what topics were raised.<\/p>\n
As it turned out, it was fascinating. The main subject was ‘bleed air’, where air for the cabin is extracted from the compressor stages of an aircraft engine. The problems come if there are any leaky seals in the system where contaminants, such as burnt oil, can cause what is known as a ‘fume event’.<\/p>\n
I learned that continually creating contaminated air can result in symptoms that range from nausea, eye and skin irritation at one end of the spectrum right up to neurological problems, such as migraines, dizziness, confusion and changes in mental state.<\/p>\n
Astonishingly, aircraft don’t have sensors fitted to warn the flight deck of any fume event. Instead, the crews are on the alert for a smell, most often described as ‘dirty socks’ from the vents. The problem here is that scent is subjective and, often combined with other smells in the cabin, it can be overlooked.<\/p>\n
This is becoming a big problem as the number of aircraft crew that have been affected by what has been coined as ‘aero toxic syndrome’ is growing every day. Many were at the conference, and all said how they loved flying, but had been struck down by cabin sickness.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there are things that can be done. Sensors are a good first step and an oil blender has produced a lubricant that doesn’t emit the toxic chemical chain when burnt. Aircraft design in the future can also be improved. For example, the B787 uses an entirely different design for cabin air and there have been no reported toxic incidents on this aircraft type.<\/p>\n
However, the feeling in the room at the conference was that not enough was being done by the airline industry, which delegates believed was obfuscating. It’s an issue we’ll be writing about in a lot more detail next year, and which we suspect might become the next big aviation scandal of our age.<\/p>\n
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