Cabin Air Quality: Contamination and Research

1. International Cabin Safety Symposiumhosted by the Southern California Safety InstituteMontréal, Québec, Canada12 February 2008Chris WitkowskiDirector, Air Safety, Health & Security Dept.Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO Cabin Air Quality: Contamination and Research

2. AIRCRAFT AIR SUPPLY CAN BE CONTAMINATED WITH TOXIC OILS/HYDRAULIC FLUIDS • Engine oil and hydraulic fluids can leak into the aircraft air supply system • Inadequate or improper maintenance • Poorly designed systems • Bad luck AFA-CWA ASHSD

3. WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS? • May see mist or haze in cabin, or may not • May smell dirty socks (carboxylic acids in hot oil) or burning oil, or may not • Likely feel sick – nauseous/stomach cramping, confused, dizzy, disoriented, headache, weak muscles • Affects different people differently (genetics, physiological differences, past exposures, etc.) AFA-CWA ASHSD

4. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT CONTAMINATION HAPPENS? • Aircraft mechanical records confirm contamination in air supply systems • Airlines report some events to the FAA (U.S. Federal Aviation Administration) • Oils contain known neurotoxins and when heated, oils/HF give off carbon monoxide • Crews consistently report neurological and respiratory symptoms during/after events AFA-CWA ASHSD

5. The documentary Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines 93 minute feature length documentary. Directed and Produced by Tristan Loraine Fact Not Fiction Films Ltd 2007 www.welcomeaboardtoxicairlines.com AFA-CWA ASHSD

6. More proof of exposure: wipe samples • Pilots/flight attendants in US, Australia, Canada, and UK have collected “wipe samples” from the surfaces of the cabin/flight deck walls and sent samples to lab for analysis. • Almost all samples came back positive for TCPs, proving that oil aerosol enters cabin/flight deck. Expect results to be published in toxicology journal this year. AFA-CWA ASHSD

7. EXAMPLES OF EVENTS • Toxic Air Video - Pilot Description of Incident AFA-CWA ASHSD

8. DOES FAA REQUIRE AIRLINES TO REPORT EVENTS? • YES: FAA requires airlines to report events involving “smoke, vapor, or toxic or noxious fumes" in the cabin or flight deck to its Service Difficulty Reporting System (14 CFR 121.703(a)(5)); also applies to ground based events if flight safety is compromised, but FAA recently acknowledged “numerous air carriers/operators who may not have reported these events as required by regulation.” (FSAW 06-05A, Mar 2006) AFA-CWA ASHSD

9. Bleed Air Explanation AFA-CWA ASHSD

10. HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN? • AFA and IAM reviewed FAA Service Difficulty Reporting System, crew reports filed with member airlines, and news clips; found 476 events for an 18 month period (Jan 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007) = average of 0.9 events per day on US fleet withengine oil (some hydraulic fluid) in aircraft air supply • Guaranteed underestimate; about half of incident flights are diverted; costs $80-200K per diversion AFA-CWA ASHSD

11. Events seen across fleet but more common on particular aircraft types • Found 476 reports on 47 aircraft types • Most common aircraft types identified in dataset are MD80, B737, B757, Embraer 145, and Canadair CL600 • Other problem aircraft: BAe146, A320 AFA-CWA ASHSD

12. Objective means to prove exposure: blood test (“biomarker”) • Researcher has successfully identified a protein in the blood that gets modified in a predictable way after exposure • Benefits of Testing • supports a correct medical diagnosis • directly proves exposure (not just potential for exposure) • testing within several months after an event will still prove exposure AFA-CWA ASHSD

13. Development of Biomarker AFA-CWA ASHSD

14. Recent Air Samples from BAe 146 Flights Outside of North America • Two separate flights stealth-sampled by one pilot • Same aircraft tail number • Tricresylphosphate (TCP) found in the cabin air in both • 1st sampled flight • Pilot smelled odors • “Had a headache for 5 days” • Maintenance identified Auxiliary Power Unit leak AFA-CWA ASHSD

15. Recent Air Samples from BAe 146 Flights Outside of North America • 2nd sampled flight • APU switched off • TCP still found in the cabin air but at 1/10 the concentration found on the 1st flight • No acute health effects reported by pilot AFA-CWA ASHSD

16. Recent Air Samples from BAe 146 Flights Outside of North America • Many pilots feel compelled to be discreet about exposures • They are entrusted with passengers’ lives in operating the aircraft • But what happens if they sample for contaminants that could incapacitate them? • Standard practice in workplaces is to conduct independent sampling of breathing air for contaminants • But Not In The AIRCRAFT • What’s wrong with this picture? AFA-CWA ASHSD

17. Jet Engine Oils AFA-CWA ASHSD

18. Oil Smell Detection Service • Oil smell in cabin often requires taking engine off wing • Major airline: dismantling engine costs350,000 USD • Need to identify which engine has a problem • If wrong engine removed, money is wasted AFA-CWA ASHSD

19. Oil Smell Detection Service • Lufthansa estimates 20 oil smell events in a year for a fleet of 100 planes • Assume each plane flies every day an average of 3 segments • Then one oil event for each 5500 flights (20/365x3x100) • Actual number of segments in a year may well be less than 5500 (i.e., transoceanic flights, aircraft down for maintenance) • Still, 1 per 5500 means 5 incidents per day in US alone AFA-CWA ASHSD

20. Cabin Air Quality Bleed AirResearch Project • OHRCA:Occupational Health Research Consortium in Aviation • ACER:Airliner Cabin Environment Research, FAA Center of Excellence AFA-CWA ASHSD

21. National Research Council Reports • The Airliner Cabin Environment: Air Quality and Safety (NRC, 1986) • The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew (NRC, 2002) • Committee on Air Quality in Passenger Cabins of Commercial Aircraft • Recommended high priority cabin air quality research questions: ozone, cabin air pressure and oxygen partial pressure, outside air ventilation, air quality incidents, pesticide exposure, relative humidity. AFA-CWA ASHSD

22. Sec. 815 Air Quality in Aircraft Cabins Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (United States Congress 2003) • conduct surveillance to monitor ozone in the cabin • collect pesticideexposure data to determine exposures of passengers and crew; • analyze samples of residue from aircraft ventilation ducts and filters after air quality incidents to identify the contaminants to which passengers and crew were exposed; • analyze and study cabin air pressure and altitude; and • establish an air quality incident reporting system. AFA-CWA ASHSD

23. Overall Purpose of Project • To plan a study of cabin crew that will examine air quality and health effects, and possible relationships between the two • Feasibility Study will test air sampler and data collection tools aboard aircraft as well as logistics of recruitment and distribution of data collection tools. • Funded by the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine AFA-CWA ASHSD

24. Medical Protocol • AIM: To collect, review, and summarize available medical evidence provided by crewmembers that have reported exposure incident(s) to develop standardized medical evaluation protocols. • "Management of Exposure to Aircraft Bleed Air Contaminants Among Airline Workers: A Guide for Health Care Providers“ is posted in the results section on www.ohrca.org. AFA-CWA ASHSD

25. Flight Attendant Health Survey • Flight attendants from two airlines participated from June - December 2007. • Surveys were self reported: • Work history as flight attendant • Working conditions • Health history • Work related injuries/illnesses in past year • Symptoms in past week and past year • Conditions reported by a health care provider • Basic demographics and smoking habits AFA-CWA ASHSD

26. Flight Attendant Health Survey • Mailed to a random sample of active flight attendants and handed out over a period of days in selected major hubs of two airlines • 4,012 completed surveys, strong response rate • Preliminary report will be out in weeks • Full report will be out in a few months AFA-CWA ASHSD

27. Cabin Air Sampling • The VN Sampler • Lightweight • Easy to operate • EMF tested, approved for in-flight use • Collects particulates, semi-volatiles on filter • Looking particularly for engine oil components in bleed air AFA-CWA ASHSD

28. Cabin Air Sampling • Researchers and project staff are carrying and activating samplers on paid flights with FAA approval letter • Original plan for crew participation in sampling prevented by airlines • Crew is notified on the plane • No problems to date with TSA, passengers, or crew • 47 flight segments sampled to date in the first phase of sampling AFA-CWA ASHSD

29. Cabin Air Sampling • 20 additional flight segments are currently being collected with side-by-side sampling (duplicates) for analytical quality control • Analysis includes detection of TCP isomers (engine oil component) • Preliminary report will be out in weeks • Full report will be out in a few months AFA-CWA ASHSD

30. Status of Feasibility Testing • Able to obtain baseline health information from flight attendants –meaningful for linking health effects to exposure sampling in future research • Not able to link flight attendant health and exposure data in this study since flight attendants were not allowed to carry air samplers • Able to deploy samplers nationally and sample on aircraft with no flight disruption • Analysis demonstrates that VN sampler is capable of capturing contaminants of interest in the lab and in the cabin environment AFA-CWA ASHSD

31. Project outcomes • A guide to health care providers to help diagnose and manage bleed air contamination exposure of airline workers • A report of baseline health information with a large flight attendant population • A report of TCP detection levels from samples collected in flight on commercial aircraft • A plan for a future study to better understand crew health and bleed air contamination exposures AFA-CWA ASHSD

32. FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact: Chris Witkowski, AFA Phone: +1-202-434-0593 Email: cwitkowski@afanet.org Website: http://ashsd.afacwa.org For a copy of the Aviation Contaminated Air Reference Manual (ISBN9780955567209) contact Captain Susan Michaelis susan@susanmichaelis.com www.susanmichaelis.com AFA-CWA ASHSD