Report from Mr. Philip Whiteley - Author & Journalist.
Dated 10th February 2014:
‘Open Letter. Addressed to: Judith Hackitt CBE and Sarah Veale, Health & Safety Executive; Chris Seal, Air Safety Group; Baroness Kramer, Transport Minister; the Countess Mar; John Hoyte, Aerotoxic Association; Dame Deirdre Hutton, Chair Civil Aviation Authority; Professor Sir Peter Rubin, Chair General Medical Council; Chartered Management Institute; Aviation correspondents; Transport correspondents; News desks; Aviation industry organizations; interested MPs; other interested parties.’
Summary: Key Issues
• Failure to prevent leaks of heated jet engine oil fumes into enclosed cabin air through product recall plus remedial action, or similar measures.
• Failure to install real time air quality monitoring on commercial aircraft.
• Failure to test for toxic injury following exposure to fume leaks.
• Affected individuals wrongly diagnosed, without testing for toxic injury: likely serious breach of medical ethics.
• Probable failure on the part of statutory authorities to enforce aviation regulations, COSHH or Health and Safety legislation, and to ensure affected individuals are accorded health rights.
THE FULL REPORT:
https://dossierphilipwhiteley.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/employers-duty-of-care-in-airlines-suspected-breaches/
Weblink to Philip Whiteley:
www.pjwhiteley.com
The link provided to The Breakspear Clinic for the study by Dr. Peter Julu mentioned in Philip Whiteley’s report no longer exists. There is no longer any reference to Aerotoxicity or Aerotoxic Syndrome anywhere on The Breakspear Clinic Website. We have found a few newspaper reports relating to this study and also evidence given to the House of Lords Enquiry by Dr. Julu in 2007:
Letter from Dr Peter Julu, Specialist Autonomic Neurophysiologist and Consultant Physician
EARLY EVIDENCE OF SPECIFIC AUTONOMIC NEUROPATHY IN AIRCREWS
I have carried out target-organ specific examination of the autonomic nervous system in a group of aircrews (n = 9) who developed chronic neurological symptoms during the course of their duties and compared the outcomes with a group of coal miners (n = 6) who also became ill following exposure to carbon monoxide due to ventilation accidents, in order to establish the pattern of autonomic dysfunctions in the two groups. The neurological sequelae I found in miners exposed to carbon monoxide and aircrews complaining of ill health consist of a patchy pattern of dysfunctions of the autonomic target organs in various parts of body but mainly in the skin, in the large blood vessels including the heart and in the brain. These neurological sequelae can explain the symptoms and ill health in these two groups of patients. Cholinergic functions are selectively preserved while monoaminergic functions deteriorate in the brain and in the skin among the aircrews. The imbalance between cholinergic and monoaminergic functions in the brain can explain cognitive dysfunction and impairment of short-term memory. The pattern of autonomic dysfunctions in the aircrews is distinctively different from that in miners exposed to carbon monoxide.
I am continuing to see more aircrews in my clinics and the pattern of autonomic dysfunctions in these patients is consistent. This is a compelling reason for further investigation, first to confirm the findings in the aircrews by examining a larger number and then to investigate possible common toxic agents among sheep farmers and aircrews. This is so because the pattern of autonomic dysfunctions in sheep farmers and the aircrews is identical.
17 June 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/765742.stm
It was interesting to read evidence given at the same enquiry from another specialist:
Letter from Dr G A Jamal, MB ChB MD PhD FRCP
CABIN AIR SAFETY
I am submitting this on a personal basis. My qualifications are MB ChB MD PhD FRCP. I am a consultant physician with specialisation in the field of clinical neurophysiology and I have a special interest in the neurological and neurophysiological assessment of the effects of neurotoxic factors on the peripheral and central nervous system. I have published extensively on the effect of organophosphate compounds on human health.
Within the last few years I have seen many pilots, co-pilots and cabin crew members as well as passengers who have had episodes of exposure to fume incidents. I have run extensive neurological and clinical neurophysiological assessment on them.
Aircrews have presented for testing some time after advising of exposures to aircraft contaminated air, specifically oil lubricant exposure containing organophosphates and a mixture of hydrocarbons. Given that the toxic substances involved in air fume contamination events have high affinity to lipid material and given that the bulk of the nervous system both peripheral and central is phospholipids, the nervous system is one of the prime toxic targets and is one of the most seriously affected systems in the body both in the short term and in the longer term.
I found that the most commonly encountered manifestations include confusion, drowsiness, fogginess in the head, excessive tiredness, loss of balance and co-ordination, dizziness, clumsiness, headaches, pins and needles and numbness sensation in the extremities, generalised pain and aches. Other common manifestations include difficulty with concentration and short term memory, mood changes, disturbances of sleep and difficulty in finding words. There may be development of intolerance to alcohol and increased sensitivity to a number of chemicals. Other common manifestations include visual blurring, tinnitus, sweating disturbances, bloating, nausea, loss of sexual drive and frequency of micturition.
We have investigated these cases systematically and thoroughly with tests looking at the function of the peripheral and central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The tests undertaken include EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies, Quantitative Sensory Tests (large fibre VPT and small fibre TTT), Single Fibre Jitter measurement, Multimodality Evoked Potentials (VEP, BAEP & SEP), Cognitive Evoked Potential (CEP & P300) and EEG. Other useful investigations include Neuropsychometric Tests and Autonomic Nervous System Tests. We have aspired to do Brain Functional Imaging (PET & SPECT Scan) but have not done so purely because of cost issues. We have found evidence of abnormalities in this group of patients to variable degrees including peripheral neuropathy particularly small fibre neuropathy and other central abnormalities as well as evidence of dysautonomia with a particular pattern. The findings seen are similar to those found in cases of exposure to organophosphate esters and solvents. Accurate diagnosis is essential not only to characterise the ailment but also to instigate effective management.
18 June 2007
From the House of Lords - Science and Technology Committee
1st Report Of Session 2007-8 Air Travel and Health: an Update.
Recommendations
4.49. We recommend that the CAA carries out an awareness campaign aimed at airlines and pilots to highlight the importance of reporting contaminated air events and encourages airlines to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the rules on reporting these events.
4.50. We recommend that the AHWG-sponsored research to identify the substances produced during a fume event be completed urgently. It should be followed up by an epidemiological study on pilots to ascertain the incidence and prevalence of ill health in air crew and any association there might be with exposure to the chemicals identified in the AHWG-sponsored study, paying particular attention to the synergistic effect of these chemicals.
4.51. We recommend that the Government works with manufacturers, airlines and the regulator to take effective action in preventing oil and hydraulic fluid leakages into the aircraft cabin.
4.52. We recommend that a protocol should be made available to health professionals, in particular Authorised Medical Examiners, on how to deal with air crew who suffer contaminated air events. We recommend that airlines, the regulators and the Government work together to improve the support given to pilots claiming to suffer ill health following a contaminated air event.
Despite the list of recommendations from the House of Lords in 2007, there has been a complete failure by all parties to comply.