IB 6500 Santo Domingo to Madrid - 4th March 2021 - Airbus A330-302 registration EC-LUB.
This information was received from a fellow campaigner in Spain recently. The cabin air measurement was taken inside an Airbus 330 during start up of the engines, during taxi, take off and climb.
FORMALDEHYDE (HCHO) - 0.668 mg/m3 (this number appears in red in the measurement shown in the photograph.)
Formaldehyde is used as an industrial fungicide, germicide and disinfectant and as a preservative in morgues and medical laboratories. Formaldehyde is also naturally present in the environment. However, Formaldehyde poses significant danger to human health due to its toxicity and volatility and is a WHO classified as a human carcinogen. Other concerns are associated with chronic (long term) exposure by inhalation, including via the production of formaldehyde resulting from the combustion of a variety of organic compounds (for example, exhaust gases)
The measuring/monitoring equipment used:
IGERESS Monitor de calidad del aire interior Detector Prueba precisa de formaldehído (HCHO) TVOC PM2.5 / PM1.0 / PM10 Prueba de contaminación de la calidad del aire
Occupational exposure limits for chemical agents.
Royal Decree (Spain) 374 / 2.001, of April 6, on the protection of the health and safety of workers against the risks related to chemical agents during work, establishes as legal criteria in Spain the Environmental Limit Values (VLA) that it periodically publishes the INSHT in its document "Occupational exposure limits for chemical agents (2012 version)".
In Spain, the Professional Exposure Limits of the National Institute for Safety and Hygiene at Work (INSHT) (year 2015), set for formaldehyde, as an environmental limit value for short-term exposures, a VLA-EC of 0.3 ppm (0.37 mg / m3). This VLA-EC coincides with that proposed by the American Conference of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and both are based on its acute irritative effect. This value represents the weighted average concentration for short periods of exposure (maximum 15 minutes) to which most workers can be exposed without suffering adverse effects on their health.
Materials containing formaldehyde can release the substance as a gas or vapor into the air.
The most important route of exposure is inhalation since it diffuses rapidly in the respiratory tract and can also be absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and the dermal route. One source of exposure to formaldehyde in the air is AUTOMOBILE EXHAUST PIPE EMISSIONS.
Other potential sources of formaldehyde indoors are cigarette smoke and the use of *NON-VENTILATED COMBUSTION APPLIANCES, SUCH AS GAS STOVES, WOOD STOVES AND KEROSENE HEATERS*.
Exposure occurs primarily by inhalation of formaldehyde gas or vapor in the air or by absorption through the skin of liquids containing formaldehyde.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified formaldehyde in 2004 as a carcinogen (group 1) due to sufficient evidence of its relationship with NASOPHARYNGEAL CANCER AND LEUKEMIA*. Following this reclassification, European Regulation No. 605/2014 has established that as of April 1, 2015 * FORMALDEHYDE WILL BE CONSIDERED A 1B CANCER AGENT with an indication of DANGER H350 that is assigned to SUBSTANCES THAT MAY CAUSE CANCER IN THE HUMAN BEING. In the same regulation, applicable throughout the European Union, formaldehyde was classified as a class 2 mutagen; Therefore, there is no safe level of exposure to this and therefore it is necessary to eliminate or reduce exposure to the maximum as recommended in Royal Decree 665/1997 of May 12, on the protection of workers against related risks. with exposure to carcinogens during work.
Formaldehyde - Toxicological Overview - U.K:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/582279/Formaldehyde__toxicological_overview.pdf
This air sample was taken on a Lufthansa Airbus A320 flight from Frankfurt to Dublin and analyzed in a German Laboratory (2010):
https://www.airunfiltered.com/air-sample.html
Formaldehyde Exposure in oil and gas communities in New Mexico 2019:
https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2020/05/20/hidden-exposures-studies-point-to-unsafe-levels-of-formaldehyde-exposure-in-oil-and-gas-communities-in-nm/
As of 2019, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) recommended an Occupational Exposure Limit of 0.3ppm for 8H Time Weighted Average (TWA). A recommendation for an OEL could be derived since the substance is known to have a threshold mode of action. It is also aligned with the DNEL (Derived No Effect Level) developed by the lead registrant for the CSR and Extended Safety Data Sheets.
In 2018 the European Commission included formaldehyde in its proposal for a third amendment to the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work) and following the ordinary legislative procedure, the European Parliament voted the CMD3 in March 2019. While Council vote is pending, the CMD3 brings a Binding Occupational Exposure Limit that through a harmonized regulation that is protective for the European workers and enables industry to strive in Europe. Following its transposition into national law, CMD3 will also facilitate the creation of a level playing field at European level for formaldehyde production.
CMD 3 will bring the following value as a maximum level for workers exposure in the EU:
0.3 ppm Time Weighted Average (TWA)
0.6 ppm Short-Term Exposure Limits (STEL)
https://www.formacare.eu/workplace-safety/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christoph-Klein-7/publication/311674871_SCOELREC125_Formaldehyde_Recommendation_from_the_Scientific_Committee_on_Occupational_Exposure_Limits/links/5853c0de08ae0c0f32247ea0/SCOEL-REC-125-Formaldehyde-Recommendation-from-the-Scientific-Committee-on-Occupational-Exposure-Limits.pdf?origin=publication_detail
The information from Spain (above) is just more evidence to show that if you fly onboard an aircraft, exposure thresholds for harmful chemicals which were introduced in the interests of health and safety to protect people are not applicable.
There is no monitoring of harmful chemicals onboard aircraft because the aviation industry are exempt from these regulations and insist the air onboard aircraft is clean and fresh.
The air you breathe on all commercial aircraft (except the Boeing 787 Dreamliner) comes directly from the aircraft engines - unfiltered.
AIRBUS ‘Clean air ‘
“We have leveraged innovation for decades to design a cabin environment which is safe for passengers and crew to breathe clean air throughout their journeys.
The air in the cabin is renewed about every 2-3 minutes. It is a mix of fresh air drawn from outside and purified air from the cabin that has passed through extremely efficient filters. These are called High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestors (HEPA) filters, which remove more than 99.9% of particles present in the air, down to the size of microscopic bacteria and virus clusters.
Air enters the cabin through vents near the overhead bins, travelling downwards before being removed via vents in the floor. This strong downwards flow prevents horizontal air movement within the cabin, reducing risk of cross-contamination between adjacent seat rows. The air is then either expelled from the aircraft or recirculated via the HEPA filters. In other words the cabin air is clean!’
Source: https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/topics-in-focus/keep-trust-air-travel.html#cabin
One would have thought that during the past year with so many aircraft being grounded within Europe that the aviation industry would have seized the opportunity to put things right regarding unfiltered cabin air wouldn’t you?
But no... the manufacturer (above) claims that HEPA filters are the ‘be all and end all’ for cleaning the air in aircraft cockpits and cabins.
HEPA filters are used for recycling the air, not to filter the so called ‘fresh air’ which comes into the cabin and cockpit directly from the engines.
HEPA filters do not stop chemical particles in aerosol form from aircraft oil, hydraulic fluid or indeed the exhaust fumes from other aircraft whilst the aircraft is preparing to leave the departure gate or is taxiing behind other aircraft.
HEPA filters are used in hospitals. Hospitals use HVAC too, but these haven’t stopped viral infections spreading in hospitals have they?
https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/the-ongoing-problem-of-hospital-acquired-infections-across-the-uk/
‘Evidence of in-flight transmission on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to New Zealand is strongly supported by the epidemiologic data, in-flight seating plan, symptom onset dates, and genomic data for this group of travelers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (passengers A–G). Among the 7 passengers, 2 (A and B) were probably index case-patients infected before the flight, 4 (C, D, E, and F) were probably infected during the flight, and the remaining passenger (G) was probably infected while in MIQ. All 7 passengers were seated in aisle seats within 2 rows of where the presumed index case-patient(s) were seated.
Combined, these data present a likely scenario of >4 SARS-CoV-2 transmission events during a long-haul flight from Dubai to Auckland. These transmission events occurred despite reported in-flight use of masks and gloves. Further transmission between travel companions then occurred after the flight, in an MIQ facility.
These conclusions are supported by genome sequencing, an in-flight seating plan, and dates of disease onset. These data do not definitively exclude an alternative exposure event, such as virus transmission at the Dubai airport before boarding (e.g., during check-in or in boarding queues). However, the close proximity of the relevant passengers on board suggests that in-flight transmission is plausible.’
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/3/20-4714_article
Expert opinion on HEPA filtering and air flow on aircraft by Prof Dr-Ing. Dieter Scholz, Aircraft Design and Systems Group (AERO), Department Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg Berliner Tor 9, 20099 Hamburg, Germany https://www.aerotoxicteam.com/airbus-cabin-air-explanations-during-the-corona-pandemic.html
Airbus' Cabin Air Explanations during the Corona Pandemic – Presented,
Analyzed, and Criticized" (Prof. Dr.Ing.Dieter Scholz) : https://www.fzt.haw-hamburg.de/pers/Scholz/Aero/AERO_M_Airbus_CabinAir_Explanation_20-06-19.pdf
New Website for Information - Many Thanks to Bearnairdine Beaumont for all her hard work with this new and much improved website - Air Unfiltered:
https://www.airunfiltered.com/