REVIEWS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Volume 17, No. 1, 2002

FEATURED ARTICLE:

Trends in Cabin Air Quality of Commercial Aircraft:
Industry and Passenger Perspectives

Professor Martin B. Hocking

Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

HIGHLIGHTS

Low outside air supply

Low oxygen, high CO₂ causes fatigue

Passengers: fainting episodes; oxygen deficiency in persons with lung or heart problems; risk of death in very young infants

Flight attendants: increased stress, fatigue, decreased alertness

Cabin air recirculation

Outside air supply reduced

Incomplete discharge of pollutants

Buildup/propagation of bioaerosols on filters

Cabin air contaminants

Dry ice, volatile organic compounds

Ozone, carbon dioxide/monoxide

De-icing and anti-icing agents

Insecticides

Irritation to eyes, skin, respiratory tract

Hazardous for persons with allergy, non-specific chemical sensitivity, or lung dysfunction

Disease transmission risks

Lowest available space per person of any public space

Lowest provision of outside air per person of any public space

Longest prescribed change interval for recirculated air filters

Most frequent contact space for people of widely differing immunities, exotic disease exposure

Come fly with me ¼ up there where the air is rarified

–Cahn and Van Heusen, 1958

But the air is not all that rarified inside aircraft cabins, according to Professor Martin B. Hocking, an organic chemist with a special interest in environmental chemistry. In this 50-page feature article, Professor Hocking from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, presents a definitive account of the factors affecting the quality of the air we breathe in aircraft cabins and its potential relevance to the health of those traveling and working in this environment, as well as some recommendations for improvement. The article presented here, Trends in Cabin Air Quality of Commercial Aircraft: Industry and Passenger Perspectives, is based on a comprehensive literature review; information supplied by airlines, airplane manufacturers and regulatory agencies; and Professor Hocking’s expertise in ventilation theory and the properties of gases.

Abstract: The small air space available per person in a fully occupied aircraft passenger cabin accentuates the human bioeffluent factor in the maintenance of air quality. The accumulation of carbon dioxide and other contributions to poor air quality that can occur with inadequate ventilation, even under normal circumstances, is related to the volume of available air space per person and various ventilation rates. The effects of respiration on the air quality of any enclosed space from the respiration of a resting adult are estimated using standard equations. Results are given for different volumes of space per person, for zero air exhange, and for various air change rates. The required ventilation rates estimated in this way compared closely with results calculated using a standard empirical formula. The results confirm that the outside air ventilation required to achieve a target carbon dioxide concentration in the air of an occupied enclosed space remains the same regardless of the volume of that space. The outside air ventilation capability of older and more recent aircraft is then reviewed and compared with the actual measurements of cabin air quality for these periods. The correlation between calculated and measured aircraft cabin carbon dioxide concentrations from other studies was very good. Respiratory benefits and costs of returning to the 30% higher outside air ventilation rates and 8% higher cabin pressures of the 1960s and 1970s are outlined. Consideration is given to the occasional occurrence of certain types of aircraft malfunction that can introduce more serious contaminants to the aircraft cabin. Recommendations and suggestions for aircraft builders and operators are made that will help improve aircraft cabin air quality and the partial pressure of oxygen that is available to passengers at minimal cost. Also suggested are some measures that passengers can take to help improve their comfort and decrease their risk of illness, particularly on long-haul flights.

TABLE OF contents

Trends in Cabin Air Quality of Commercial Aircraft: Industry and Passenger Perspectives

Martin B. Hocking.........1

Age-Environment and Gene-Environment Interactions in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease

D.G. Le Couteur, M. Muller, M.C Yang, G.D Mellick, A.J McLean...........51

Somatotype and Disease Prevalence in Adults

M. Koleva, A. Nacheva and M. Boev...........65

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Special Single Edition

Vol. 17: No. 1, 2002
Price: $70.00 including airmail delivery