Conservatives call on European Aviation Safety Agency to 'earn its keep' by investigating toxic air conditioning in planes
Posted, March 27, 2008 @ 00:00
Coordinated government action must be promoted
The Conservatives have called on the European Aviation Safety Agency to investigate the increasing evidence that toxic fumes are being pumped into plane cabins through malfunctioning air conditioning units. Urgent action by EU governments must follow to deal with a potentially deadly problem in modern aviation.
Chemicals such as tricresyl phosphate and tributyl phosphate leak daily into cabins and get recycled in the course of one flight through the air conditioning systems.
Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Conservative Spokesman on Transport and Tourism, said:
"This is a serious problem which the European Aviation Safety Agency is obliged to investigate. I expect EASA to earn its keep by identifying the problem and proposing solutions to EU governments.
"There are too many stories of pilots suffering from headaches, nausea and eye/nose/throat irritation because they are exposed to contaminated air."
Mr Kirkhope, himself a pilot, added: "We must investigate air quality on flights and deal with the dangers that aircraft cabin staff and passengers face. Onboard air quality should be regulated through devices such as extra filters which could make a real difference."