Saturday, February 23, 2008

Aerotoxic Syndrome and Frequent Fliers

Good morning to you all.

Do you know the air we breathe on a plane may contain toxic fumes from engines and very little is done to address the issue?

Captain Tristan Loraine, a former British Airways pilot, was told by his doctor that repeated exposure to contaminated air had rendered him unfit to fly. Loraine researched the issue for seven years, which led to the documentary “Welcome aboard Toxic Airlines”. In 2006 he helped form “The Global Cabin Air Quality Executive”, a group that represents 400,000 crew worldwide.

Pilots are increasingly reporting that air polluted by engine fumes is making them ill, and passengers are as susceptible to the ill-effects of the contaminated air in the cabin, says a report in the Telegraph. The article reveals that numerous recent reports filed by pilots refer to incidents of contaminated air on aircraft.

The effect of toxic fumes from engines –called aero-toxic syndrome by medical specialists- puts pilots, cabin crew and passengers at risk. Dr. Mackenzie Ross, a clinical neuro-psychologist at University College, London, after examining Civil Aviation Authority records, estimated that the problem is affecting up to 200,000 passengers each year.

In modern aircraft, the air purification system works this way. At first, air is drawn out of the compression section of the engine and cooled. It then enters the cabin, where it mixes with re-circulated air that has passed through filters designed to remove bacteria and viruses. These filters do not remove any fumes or vapours from the engine. So if engine oil or hydraulic fuel leaks, because of faulty seals or over-filled tanks, toxins can contaminate the air.

This can cause drowsiness, headaches and nausea. At worst, air can be laced with a chemical, tricresyl phosphate, or other toxic mixtures that have been linked to respiratory problems, memory loss, neurological illness and brain damage.

This is not to say there is no way out! There is, but installing the technology that would filter out toxins would cost millions of dollars. Now crew members rely solely on their sense of smell, but contaminated air is often odorless, which makes even the odor filters on an aircraft ineffective. But the tragedy is even the frequent fliers remain unaware of all these prompting many critics to call it “one of the biggest cover-ups in history”.

My sole aim in writing this article is to remind you that at present we ourselves should take some remedial actions such as exposing ourselves to lot of fresh air after a long flight, or do anything that can get our system rid of toxins so that the effects may be less or negligible, at least permanent damages can be avoided.

Now, I can wish all my visitors a very safe and healthy air travel, because now you are more aware of the safety concerns while flying and awareness alone can help us a lot to take precautions. And precaution is always better than cure, (I always insist more on food supplements than medicines.)

Interseted to know more about natural food supplements and products without any chemicals, please feel free to contact me on my email or telephone number.

Email: therightinformation@gmail.com
Telephone: 011-22110173/9958250569

No comments: