''Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines'' is a 2007 British

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about

aerotoxic syndrome Aerotoxic syndrome relates to ill-health effects that are claimed to be caused by breathing contaminated airliner cabin air. This condition is not an established medical diagnosis. Potential sources of contamination Modern jetliners have envi ...

directed and produced by former airline captain Tristan Loraine.

Synopsis

This documentary shows that for nearly fifty years, airline passengers and crews have been supplied with unfiltered air, called

bleed air Bleed air is compressed air taken from the compressor stage of a gas turbine upstream of its fuel-burning sections. Automatic air supply and cabin pressure controller (ASCPCs) valves bleed air from high or low stage engine compressor sections. Low ...

, taken directly from the engines. It shows how pressure groups have stated that this air supply sometimes becomes contaminated with

neurotoxins Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nerv ...

carcinogens A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...

, and other hazardous chemicals. When this contamination occurs on an aeroplane, it is called a "

fume event A fume event occurs when bleed air used for cabin pressurization and air conditioning in a pressurized aircraft is contaminated by fluids such as engine oil, hydraulic fluid, anti-icing fluid, and other potentially hazardous chemicals. How cabi ...

". Many fume events have been reported, some in which the passenger cabin was filled with smoke and fumes.

Global Cabin Air Quality Executive

Former

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

Captain Tristan Loraine, who produced the film, is co-chair of Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE).

Contrary opinions

Research by the UK government did not find a link to long-term health problems. The UK Parliament Select Committee on Science and Technology concluded in 2000 that the concerns about significant health risks were not substantiated. In 2008 Michael Bagshaw, the former Head Doctor at

, and later an advisor to Airbus, claimed that no peer-reviewed, recorded cases of neurological harm in humans followed low-level exposure to the

organophosphate In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered a ...

tricresyl phosphate Tricresyl phosphate (TCP), is a mixture of three isomeric organophosphate compounds most notably used as a flame retardant and as a plasticizer in manufacturing for lacquers and varnishes and vinyl plastics. Pure tricresyl phosphate is a colourles ...

(TCP), which is used as a

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

jet engines A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term typicall ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2007 films British aviation films British documentary films 2007 documentary films 2007 in aviation 2007 in the United Kingdom Documentary films about environmental issues Documentary films about aviation 2000s English-language films 2000s British films

Synopsis

Global Cabin Air Quality Executive

Contrary opinions

See also

References

External links