----------
> From: judith richards <[log in to unmask]>
> To: .Parkinsn <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: NEWS-Mystery sickness baffles air industry
> Date: Friday, July 09, 1999 12:04 AM
>
>
> July 8,  1999
> FEATURE-Mystery sickness baffles air industry
> By Chris Stetkiewicz
>
> http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/990708/bhb.html
>
> SEATTLE (Reuters) - Flight attendants who crisscross the globe have
> complained for years of occasional headaches, nausea or dizziness that
> cannot be explained by jet lag or a bad day.
>
> That, plus disturbing although rare cases of permanently disabling
tremors
> among flight attendants, have galvanized one labor union to fight what it
> charges is widespread poisoning of its members -- and of air passengers
--
> on commercial jets.
>
> Twenty-six flight attendants have filed a civil lawsuit in King County
court
> in Seattle alleging Alaska Air Group Inc. endangered their health by poor
> maintenance on MD-80 aircraft and ignored their complaints. The suit also
> names McDonnell Douglas Corp., which built the plane and was bought by
> Boeing Co. in 1997, and AlliedSignal Inc., which makes a backup engine
the
> suit says spewed toxic fumes into MD-80 cabins.
>
> Two of the 26 flight attendants are women in their mid-30s who say they
are
> permanently disabled with PARKINSON'S Disease-type body tremors and are
> unlikely ever to fly again. A trial date has been set for August 2000,
when
> 700 witnesses -- many from abroad -- are expected to be called.
>
> Similar lawsuits are in various stages of litigation in Australia and
> Canada.
>
> ``Flight attendants on a lot of carriers are having problems but they
don't
> know what they are. They haven't figured out the link like we have,''
said
> Joni Benson, who heads an air quality committee at the Alaska Airlines
> branch of the flight attendants union, the Association of Flight
Attendants.
>
> ``If you don't know what to look for, more often than not these incidents
> are chalked up to some sort of a virus.''
>
>
> SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ELSEWHERE
>
> Benson recently met union representatives from Europe and elsewhere and
said
> similar symptoms had been reported at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, China
> Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Air BC in Canada. ``We are just now
beginning
> to delve into how serious this is worldwide,'' she said in a telephone
> interview.
>
> Benson told Reuters the AFA branch at Alaska Airlines has 1,400
documented
> cases of symptoms attributed to noxious fumes dating back 10 years. The
U.S.
> aviation industry acknowledges there is a problem and has been
investigating
> but is baffled.
>
> ``People here have rolled up their sleeves and (worked) on this problem
for
> 10 years,'' Jack Evans, spokesman for Alaska Airlines told Reuters. But
> Alaska's thorough checks show no link between the illnesses and its
> airplanes, Evans said.
>
> ``We certainly believe there is something wrong affecting these
individuals.
> We just feel that after 10 years and after all the things we have looked
at
> it is not the planes that are causing them to be sick,'' he said.
>
> ``We have not found any evidence that there is anything on board the
> aircraft that is causing these problems.''
>
> The AFA and Alaska Airlines have explored many possible causes including
> fumes from hydraulic fluids, air ventilation systems, possible
> organophosphate poisoning, ozone and even ash from volcanic eruptions.
The
> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also conducting studies but so
far
> it has no evidence of problems outside of Alaska.
>
> ``It is very hard to pin down because it seems to be specifically related
to
> the MD-80 aircraft and one airline. We would like to know if there are
other
> airlines out there that are experiencing the same thing,'' an FAA
> spokesperson said.
>
>
> OILS, OTHER FLUIDS MAY FOUL CABIN AIR
>
> Most aircraft have a trough inside the belly of the plane to catch spills
> from engine oil, hydraulic fluid and other lubricants. It carries the
fluid
> to the back of the plane and funnels it outside through tiny ``weep
holes.''
>
> In some planes the weep holes are very close to the air intake door for
the
> Auxiliary Power Unit used to run electrical systems when a plane is on
the
> ground. ``The fluids go out the plane and immediately get sucked right
back
> in and get piped into the ventilation system,'' Benson said.
>
> Passengers are affected less than flight attendants, who spend more time
in
> the air and breathe more heavily pushing meal carts up and down the
aisles
> than the seated passengers. But one labor source close to the AFA said
> thousands of passengers have been made ill by toxic airplane air and have
> quietly settled with the airlines.
>
> Alaska Airlines denies that claim. It says reported medical problems
among
> travelers that were brought to its attention have all involved people
with
> previous health complications.
>
> The International Airline Passengers Association, a group of 100,000
> frequent flyers, has logged relatively few such complaints. ``We have
looked
> into the issue numerous times because periodically we get complaints, but
we
> haven't seen any in quite a long time,'' IAPA spokesman Hal Salfen said.
>
> ``Overall airplane air quality, if properly maintained, is not that big a
> problem,'' he added.
>
> Boeing agrees maintenance is the key to preventing pollution on
airliners.
> With proper use, the APU will not pump toxic fumes into the cabin, David
> Space, a Boeing engineer who works on cabin air quality, said.
>
> ``This is really an issue with Alaska Airlines. You'd need to look at the
> maintenance practices. Boeing is not involved.''
>
> Evans said Alaska has taken many steps to resolve the problem, changing
all
> the fluids used to clean cabins, installing high-efficiency filters and
> establishing new routines and standards for cleaning the ventilation
system
> and for exposure to hydraulic fluids.
>
> He said Alaska sees next year's court case as a chance to refute union
> claims that it has tried to cover up the problem.
>
> ``We think we will be able to show that we've taken extreme steps to be
> looking for what could potentially be causing these symptoms to occur,
and
> also that we've been open and willing to address them,'' he said.
>
> Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited.
> --
> Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
> [log in to unmask]
>                          ^^^
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