Flying is unhealthy

Press, 1 September 1986, Page 14

Flying is unhealthy

NZPA-AP Washington

Frequent air travellers and airline crews face potentially serious health risks from contaminated air in commercial jetliners, a scientific panel says.

A National Academy of Sciences report , on aircraft cabin air quality concludes that drifting smoke from cigarettes is the greatest health hazard and should be banished.

The report by the academy’s National Research Council also said frequent flyers face risks from exposure to cosmic radiation, ozone, and infectious germs. And the study says the problem is likely to get worse as airlines try to carry full passenger loads and reduce aircraft ventilation to conserve fuel.

The panel’s most controversial finding, leaked earlier this week, is its call for a ban on cigarette smoking aboard all United States commercial flights. But the study also says other dangers in cabin air need to be more closely examined and monitored.

The report says ventilation in many aircraft is often at minimal standards, and when cigarette smoke is added "the quality of air falls below the

acceptable level.” “A crowded airplane with inadequate forcedair ventilation is an excellent environment for spread of airborne disease,” says Thomas Chalmers, chairman of the U-member panel that conducted the 18-month study at the direction of Congress. The greatest risks are faced by frequent travellers, passengers with special medical problems, and the flight attendants who are most exposed to drifting cabin smoke, the research group says. Mr Chalmers notes that although the effects of secondary smoke are not conclusive, some studies have shown clear links between such smoke and lung cancer or heart disease.

The study estimates that a flight attendant working full-time receives exposures to drifting smoke “approximately equal to that associated with living with a one-pack-a-day smoker." And it urges that stewardesses who are pregnant work fewer hours to reduce exposure of cosmic radiation to the fetus.

Flight attendants for years have complained

about poor air quality aboard aircraft. Some have filed lawsuits claiming illnesses were directly attributed to cabin air.

Among the contaminants cited by the panel of scientists are carbon dioxide, ozone, and various biologic aerosols that spread germs. In many cases, there is little reliable information about the concentration of these contaminants during normal airline flight, but the panel says it is certain that significant amounts are present. Spokesmen for the United States Air Transport Association say the airline industry group has no immediate comment, except to say the carriers believe the present system of separating smokers and non-smokers is satisfactory to most travellers.