Is airplane air toxic? French health authority Anses issued a nuanced statement on Wednesday, arguing that more detailed investigations were needed to establish a possible link to the symptoms reported by the flight crew.
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The agency was contacted in 2019 by several unions representing pilots and cabin crew, as well as the Association of Victims of Aerotoxic Syndrome (AVSA).
The latter, who wants to join as a civil party in an investigation initiated in Paris into “accidental injuries” and “endangerment of the lives of others”, describes “acute or chronic contamination of the compressed air of aircraft by toxic substances”.
It assures that “in almost all aircraft, the air we breathe on board comes from the reactors.” This air is contaminated, among other things, by the oil used to lubricate it,” which in turn, according to the AVSA, contains “toxic additives,” while some of the contaminants are a ” “nanometric” size.
Among other symptoms: headaches, dizziness, digestive and breathing problems…
The judicial investigation carried out at the Paris health center was launched after an easyJet pilot made a complaint in 2016.
The panel of experts cited in the Anses report agrees that “many gaseous and particulate pollutants (…) are present in aircraft cabins”, but judges that “the data are insufficient to carry out a quantitative assessment of the health risks associated with this situation” . .
For ANSES, there is “a low level of evidence to support the designation of a syndrome specifically related to exposure to various pollutants or products of engine degradation or hydraulic fluids.”
“If the symptoms described by people are not questioned, the agency emphasizes that the “aerotoxic syndrome” is not yet a consensual nosological entity” and “promotes studies that provide insights into the causes of cabin air pollution events and their consequences.” about the health of cabin crew,” some of which are still ongoing.
ANSES expanded the scope of its report to include “health impacts related to the occupation of airline crew,” recalling that studies have already concluded that these workers are more likely than the population average to be affected by skin cancer and leukemia, which may be linked to sun exposure. and solar radiation are related to cosmic radiation.