"WE'RE basically the canaries - getting knocked down by the fumes first," says Susan Michaelis, a former pilot who believes she was poisoned by fumes from leaking engine fuel while flying. At a meeting in London on 18 June, Michaelis pushed for "aerotoxic syndrome" to be recognised as a disease.
The problem, says Michaelis, of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, comes from the way compressed air is drawn off engines to supply the cabins. If the seal inside the engine is not secure, oil can leak into the cabin, contaminating air with tricresyl phosphate (TCP).
Michaelis's survey of 250 pilots found that 85 per cent had detected the "dirty socks" smell of contaminated air, 57 per cent reported ill health as a result, and 8 per cent had to retire on health grounds.
By Tadick Margach
Sat Dec 15 03:43:37 GMT 2007
Oil fumes contaminate Cabin Air supply due to the lubricating oil sealing in Turbine Jet engines is carried outAll comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
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