Contamination Of Cabin Air Research Articles

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry - Part 6. The atmosphere

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry - Part 6. The atmosphere

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 5. Carbon monoxide—how it forms in aircraft engines

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 5. Carbon monoxide—how it forms in aircraft engines

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 2. Root cause

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 2. Root cause

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 3. Aircraft, powerplants, repair and service. An evolutionary miscalculation leading to the proximate cause of contamination in cabin air

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 3. Aircraft, powerplants, repair and service. An evolutionary miscalculation leading to the proximate cause of contamination in cabin air

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 1. History - Evolving cabin air contamination

Anatomy of an occupational hazard: Cabin air contamination in the air transportation industry Part 1. History - Evolving cabin air contamination

Routes of Aircraft Cabin Air Contamination from Engine Oil, Hydraulic and Deicing Fluid

Purpose: This paper discusses potential contamination of the air in passenger aircraft cabins. It gives an overview of cabin air contamination basics. It further names possible contamination sources and possible routes of contamination. – Methodology: Evidence follows from a review of material found on the Internet and from the documentation of a visit to an aircraft recycling site. Parts were retrieved at the site and investigated later with more time. – Findings: Jet engine seals leak oil in small quantities. Metallic nanoparticles are found in the oil and have been detected in human fatty tissue of aviation workers. It has been observed that the potable water on board can also be contaminated. Oil traces have been found in bleed ducts, air conditioning components, and in air conditioning ducts. Deicing fluid and hydraulic fluid can find their way into the air conditioning system via the APU air intake. Fuel and oil also leak down onto the airport surfaces. These fluids can be ingested by the engine from the ground and can enter the air conditioning system from there. Entropy is the law of nature that states that disorder always increases. This is the reason, why it is impossible to confine engine oil and hydraulic fluids to their (predominantly) closed aircraft systems. This is why engine oil with metal nanoparticles hydraulic fluids, and deicing fluids eventually can go everywhere and finally into the human body. – Research Limitations: No measurements have been made. – Practical Implications: Awareness and prevention of contaminated cabin air can protect passengers and crew. – Social Implications: The exposure of contaminated cabin air provides a basis for a general discussion and shows that people should be alerted and need to act. New technologies need to be implemented such as a bleed free architecture. – Originality: This paper shows many original images of contaminated parts and air ducts between engine compressor and cabin air outlet. Own observations are combined with similar observations found in literature and online. The collected evidence is visualized in a diagram showing the routes of possible aircraft cabin air (and water) contamination.

Cabin air quality – Quantitative comparison of volatile air contaminants at different flight phases during 177 commercial flights

Quantitative assessment of human exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC), such as tricresyl phosphates (TCP) that may originate from engine oil contamination of the cabin air, during air travel is challenging due to the technical complexity of the air supply in commercial jet aircraft. Normal flight operations involve reduced air exchange before and during takeoff, which results in increased concentrations of potential cabin air pollutants. During cruise, normal ventilation rates (>20 h− 1) are reestablished and thus lower pollutant concentrations are also reestablished. This relationship between changes in ventilation rate and associated changes in pollutant concentrations during the departure phase is first described in the present study, although this effect was found by previous studies that investigated distinct flight phases.The perception of so-called "smell events" in cabin air does not necessarily indicate the presence of harmful contaminants and TCP-containing oil mist must be clearly distinguished thereof. Thus, aldehydes, VOCs, and organophosphates such as TCP were investigated. In this paper, the occurrence of TCP contamination in a bleed air free Boeing 787 (B787) aircraft is reported for the first time. The results presented here show that there are TCP sources other than bleed air from leaky engines. Furthermore, exceptional release behavior of TCP suggests that a more detailed classification for engine oil-triggered cabin air contamination (CAC) events is necessary. This study evaluated measurement data from 177 flights that were either commissioned by the EASA or conducted as part of studies with the support of Lufthansa, Condor, and British Airways.

An update on aircraft oil bearing chamber sealing

On board aircraft, the common use of engine compressor, pressurised air to seal the oil bearing chamber and as a source for the cabin bleed-air supply provides a mechanism for low-level oil leakage in routine engine operations. This is of great concern and was discussed previously in this newsletter in a feature entitled ‘Oil bearing seals and aircraft cabin air contamination’ (Sealing Technology April 2016, pages 7–10). Further to this article, Dr Susan Michaelis has now been awarded an MSc for her extensive work in researching the issue of oil leakage past seals in aircraft gas turbine engines. [1] An update on this research and associated initiatives is provided by this article.

Aircraft cabin air contamination and aerotoxic syndrome—a review of the evidence

Aircraft cabin air contamination and aerotoxic syndrome—a review of the evidence

Aircraft cabin air contamination and aerotoxic syndrome—a review of the evidence

Aircraft cabin air contamination and aerotoxic syndrome—a review of the evidence

Oil bearing seals and aircraft cabin air contamination

On board aircraft, the common use of engine compressor, pressurised air to seal the oil bearing chamber and as a source for the cabin bleed air supply provides a mechanism for low-level oil leakage in routine engine operations. Although this problem was identified in the 1950s with the advent of synthetic jet engine oils, the problem remains ongoing today with over-reliance on seal failure conditions only.

Electrochemical Sensing System for Detection of Tricresyl Phosphate (TCP) in Aqueous Solution and Air

The analysis of the air quality in commercial airliners suggests that there is a risk of cabin air contamination with tricresyl phosphate (TCP), which is an anti-wear additive in jet engine oils. TCP is an organophosphate that inhibits vital enzymes, and induces an organophosphorus-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN). Large size and high cost complex techniques for TCP detection include gas chromatography, photometric detector, mass spectrometric recognition, and are impractical in an aircraft. The development of a portable TCP sensing device would rely on employing electrochemical methods due to their time and cost effectiveness and possibility to integrate them into a portable device. TCP is not electroactive, and gas samples of TCP are not readily available, thereby electrochemical sensing is accomplished via detecting the products of TCP hydrolysis, cresols. Besides commercially obtained TCP, cresol detection in jet engine oils has been performed. The challenging part of the amperometric detection of such phenolic compounds as cresols is fouling of the working glassy carbon electrode; this can be resolved by electrode modification with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulphonate) PEDOT:PSS. Currently, microfluidic devices are potentially important detection systems in environmental monitoring with reduced cost, portability and increase analysis speed. Our goal is to develop a microfluidic based electrochemical system that can provide rapid and reliable determination of TCP in trace levels.

The Occupational Health and Safety of Flight Attendants

In order to perform safety-critical roles in emergency situations, flight attendants should meet minimum health standards and not be impaired by factors such as fatigue. In addition, the unique occupational and environmental characteristics of flight attendant employment may have consequential occupational health and safety implications, including radiation exposure, cancer, mental ill-health, musculoskeletal injury, reproductive disorders, and symptoms from cabin air contamination. The respective roles of governments and employers in managing these are controversial. A structured literature review was undertaken to identify key themes for promoting a future agenda for flight attendant health and safety. Recommendations include breast cancer health promotion, implementation of Fatigue Risk Management Systems, standardization of data collection on radiation exposure and health outcomes, and more coordinated approaches to occupational health and safety risk management. Research is ongoing into cabin air contamination incidents, cancer, and fatigue as health and safety concerns. Concerns are raised that statutory medical certification for flight attendants will not benefit either flight safety or occupational health.

Flying may be very bad for you

A major article in the Travel section of the Daily Telegraph of 23 February 2008 highlighted major health concerns caused by oil contamination of cabin air on aircraft.

Multi-elemental analysis of jet engine lubricating oils and hydraulic fluids and their implication in aircraft air quality incidents

The flight crews of aircraft often report symptoms including dizziness, nausea, disorientation, blurred vision and tingling in legs and arms. Many of these incidents have been traced to contamination of cabin air with lubricating oil, as well as hydraulic fluid, constituents. Considering that these air contaminants are often subjected to temperatures in excess of 500°C, a large number of different exposures can be expected. Although the reported symptoms are most consistent with exposures to volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and the organophosphate constituents in these oils and fluids, the involvement of these agents has not been clearly demonstrated. Possible exposure to toxic elements, such as lead, mercury, thallium and others, have not been ruled out. In order to assess the potential of exposure to toxic elements a multi-elemental analysis was done on two hydraulic fluids and three lubricating oils which have been implicated in a number of air quality incidents. A secondary objective was to establish if the multi-elemental concentrations of the fluids tested are different enough to allow such an analysis to be used as a possible method of identifying the source of exposure that might have been present during aircraft air quality incidents. No significant concentrations of toxic elements were identified in any of the oils or hydraulic fluids. The elemental compositions of the samples were different enough to be used for identification purposes and the measurement of only three elements was able to achieve this. Whether these findings have an application, in aircraft air quality incident investigations, needs to be established with further studies.