Mr Lyng
Your little rant goes some way towards explaining your lack of success.
Please point out anywhere in my posts where I have claimed to be an expert on anything (other than flying the 146 of course). Besides, you don't need to be an expert to see the obvious flaws in the AOPIS argument. So what papers have YOU published?
You also make the foolish error of assuming that I do not believe that pilots have suffered illness - I have already confirmed that I do believe this to be the case. I am therefore unsure why you think the members of the organisations you mention might disagree with me.
The only point of difference between us is that I am not so quick to jump to conclusions as AOPIS clearly is.
Case in point:
Vehicle interiors contain a cocktail of chemical compounds that off-gas and leach from trim panels, carpeting, seating, electronics and other parts into the air and dust that passengers breathe. Since our 2005 report, we have witnessed increasing public concern about these chemicals and their potential to cause human health effects.
While many chemicals used in cars pose risks, halogenated organic chemicals—such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs)—cause some of the greatest concern. Many of them are toxic, persist in the environment, bioaccumulate, and have been associated with serious health effects throughout their life cycle. When used in vehicles, they pose risks to workers who manufacture vehicle components, as well as people sitting inside their cars. Halogenated organics can also be extremely hazardous at the end of vehicle life. The majority of plastics in
vehicles end up as auto shredder residue (ASR), which is often incinerated or used as a feedstock in blast furnaces for the production of steel. When burned in this way, plastics that contain halogenated organics can create dangerous chemicals, such as dioxin—a likely carcinogen as well as a reproductive and developmental toxicant. Because of the dangers associated with halogenated substances during all stages of their life cycle, our evaluation now includes three topics specifically relating to halogens: “Reduction of BFRs”, “Reduction of PVC” and “Improvement in Cabin Air Quality.” While we believe that the entire set of halogenated organic chemicals should be avoided in automotive applications, these three topics represent first steps that automakers can take to phase them out of their products.
I N C R E A S I N G C O N C E R N A B O U T C H E M I C A L A D D I T I V E s
Brominated Flame Retardants
BFRs, most notably poly-brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), are a group of halogenated organic chemicals that pose risk to vehicle occupants and the environment. PBDEs are added in large amounts to many interior vehicle components, including seating, trim panels and wiring, in order to impart fire resistance. They persist in the environment and levels of these chemicals in the food chain and in human bodies are rising rapidly. Studies have found that PBDEs may cause liver, thyroid and developmental toxicity, among other health problems. In a recent report, the Ecology Center found that
vehicle interiors are a significant source of PBDE exposure for many Americans. The study found that levels of PBDEs in vehicle dust are more than five times higher than levels detected in homes and offices. More
troubling, the study findings suggest that UV rays and heat may cause deca-BDE—the predominant PBDE used in autos today—to breakdown inside cars into more problematic and more toxic compounds, such aspenta-BDE and octa-BDE, which have been banned by government health agencies and the auto industry due to their toxicity.
Non-halogenated alternatives to deca-BDE exist, as well as alternative materials that are inherently more resistant to flames than conventional petroleum-based polymers. Some companies have begun to phase-in
these alternatives in their products, including Dell, Apple, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Ikea, Samsung Electronics, Sony and others. Because of the risks associated with deca-BDE exposure, the high concentrations of deca-BDE found in vehicles, and because industries have begun to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing it with alternatives, we find it reasonable to expect the auto industry to restrict their use of these chemicals as well. For these reasons, we have added BFRs, with particular focus on deca-BDE, as a topic in our evaluation. The detailed grading criteria for this topic can be found in Appendix B.
Polyvinyl Chloride and Interior Cabin Air Quality
Another halogenated substance, PVC, is also of concern in automobile interiors. PVC is a plastic commonly used in many vehicle components, including seats, arm rests, dashboards, trim panels, wiring and sealing. It
contains large amounts of the halogenated vinyl chloride monomer, which is a likely carcinogen, and creates dioxin when heated during production or burned in disposal. In addition to vinyl chloride, PVC also contains
plasticizers called phthalates. These chemicals off-gas from PVC and are deposited on dust particles and windshields, where they cause fogging. When inhaled or ingested by vehicle passengers, phthalates can lead
to a number of health problems, including damage to the liver and testes, reproductive effects, and possibly cancer.
http://www.ecocenter.org/sustainable...ics_full06.pdf
Hmmm... so is it the 146 APU... or is it the pilots new car? Do you know? Can you prove it? Guess not...
Can you see a pattern emerging here?