In the past months, several media articles and the Zembla documentaries (http://bit.ly/2ElC7Ql) triggered a renewed awareness over a very important and worrying health issue: the so-called “aerotoxic syndrome”. What is it? To oversimplify a very complex issue: it is a variety of symptoms “caused by short- or long-term exposure to contaminated air in jet aircraft” (source: http://www.aerotoxic.org). Pilots and cabin crews are therefore particularly affected by this syndrome, for which the research is still inconclusive. Cabin Air Quality (CAQ) has been one of BeCA’s top priorities for many years and we have been very active, at national and European levels, demanding that more research should be carried out and that proper legislation should be implemented. You can read our articles in the previous issues of our Cockpit Flash.

BeCA recently attended two main events, the first Global Conference on Cabin Air Quality in London in September 2017, and a presentation by Dr. Michel Mulder on 16 November. Below, you will find a brief overview of the current state of play, as well as Frequently Asked Questions, aiming to address your most common questions and unknowns on the “aerotoxic syndrome” subject.

Global Conference on Cabin Air Quality

On September 19 and 20, the London Imperial College hosted the first ever Global Conference on Cabin Air Quality. Organized by the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE), it was the culmination of decades of events, findings and an ever-growing awareness on this highly underestimated (or should we say ‘unknown’) issue. Although they had been invited and initially confirmed to participate in the Conference, both the FAA and EASA pulled out at the very last moment. BeCA, confirming our long-term commitment and work on this issue, attended.

Spread over 2 full days, the conference covered multiple fields related to the CAQ context. After an overview of the history of cabin air (external or bleed offtake), multiple events were consequently discussed. Elaborating on the technical & engineering background, engineers of companies producing the bearing seals inside bleed offtake engines, together with producers of the oils lubricating these bearings, participated. Toxicology has been extensively tackled by multiple toxicologists who have been actively studying such subjects for decades. Rulemaking & norms regarding CAQ measurements were consequently discussed, as were public health policies. One of the pillars of the argument made was the occupational disease study by Dr. S. Michaelis PhD. MSc. who herself has been one of the driving forces behind the conference.

Ever since the conception of cabin pressurization, 2 systems have generally been used:

• The turbo-compressor takes air directly from the outside (e.g. VC-10 and B787s)
• Bleed air offtake takes air from one of the engine compressor stages (any other turbojet/fan powered airliner since the B727)

Observing manifolds from both system types after several years of operation, the compressor-type manifold has no residues on the inside, while the bleed air offtake manifold is dripping with oil. Ever since the conception of bleed air offtake systems, there have been events of cabin air contamination leading to physical/physiological/medical complaints and incapacitation. Mr. G. Slusher MS and research-scientist at the USAF Human Performance Wing confirmed this in his presentation, stating that he was overly surprised that civil airliners using bleed air offtake systems have no filtration fitted while the military aircraft using similar systems do.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Scholz of the Aircraft design and systems group joined the speaker cohort, discussing how much oil effectively flows into the cabin. Most important point made: it is not a “yes/no”-question but a “how much?” one. Moving forward, design-engineers went on stage to discuss the specifics of both bearing lubrication oil sealing systems and engine lubricating oils.

As the amount of information provided during this 2-day conference was staggeringly vast, attempting to cover all is not feasible. Of course, would you have any questions on this, you are kindly invited to contact us. Finally, please note that more information can at all times be found on GCAQE website (https://gcaqe.org).

Aerotoxic Syndrome by Dr. Michel Mulder

Rotselaar, 16-nov-2017

In the wake of the Zembla documentaries “Toxines in the cockpit”, ACV organised a presentation about Aerotoxic Syndrome by Dr. Michel Mulder (who appeared as an expert on the television program) on 16 November 2017. Obviously BeCA was present. Unfortunately we couldn’t identify any official representation from a Belgian operator (safety nor management). Dr. Mulder’s commitment to tackle this public health issue originates from ethical concerns about not applying the ‘precautionary principle’ i.e. people continue to be exposed to known toxines with strong indications that this might cause neurological issues.