Originally Posted by
Airclues
The Environmental Health article above is scary reading for crew (and their families) who have been loyal servants of aviation their whole working lives.
It is quite clear (to me at least) that biological and neurological science is pointing the finger at the oil (and its pyrolised constituents, including Carbon Monoxide) that is found in the bleed air of most modern ac.
But for more insight on the many diseases that are more prevalent in aircrew than the general population - ones that we may have to deal with before we die, see here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.22608
https://journals.lww.com/joem/abstra...ots_and.8.aspx
The only positives I can detect:
a.There are significant genetic differences in how individuals' bodies reacts to these poisons - meaning some may be better 'protected' than others -
roll the dice everyone!
b. It is some consolation that airline/manufacturers' executives and our supposed regulators (who probably knew of the risks they were asking us to take but turned a blind eye to them) will also have spent a lot of time travelling in the cabins of their own 'bastard children' and may have been subjected to many low doses of the poisons -
what goes around, comes around!
c. Thanks to the sustained pressure from a number of aerotoxic pressure groups around the world, a number of major airlines are slowly doing more of the following - changing to engine oils with less 'nasties' lurking in their recipes, changing bearing seals more regularly and not over-filling oil reservoirs, fitting filters and detectors to the air system and improving crew SOPs and improving post fume-event actions......
too little to late for many. Also, of course, no-one wants to admit this - ostensibly 'to protect the industry' from legal action/bills - but perhaps they hope that many of us will die before we wake up to the many liberties they have been taking with our health.