Photo - The Mind Journal
Karma - Consequences good or bad as a result of one’s actions.
Turbulent Times for Boeing's Leader
By Bearnairdine Beaumont
28 June 2024
‘Once it was a household name with its fans saying “If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going”. While Boeing of course loved this slogan, the past six years have sadly seen two tragic B737 MAX crashes and several other issues, which have meant that times have changed significantly for the company. The world witnessed the jet maker’s humiliation when its CEO, Dave Calhoun, was questioned by angry US senators in Washington about his company’s terrible safety and manufacturing problems.
In the below video, Adam Hegarty chats to some of Boeing's whistleblowers on 60 MINUTES Australia, who reveal some pretty worrying allegations about substandard operations and cover-ups. It seems that the turbulence at Boeing is far from over.
There’s one more subject that can go on the list of to-do’s for Boeing (Note: and AIRBUS) which we have been highlighting for decades: the problem with dangerously polluted air in the cabin and cockpit.
The below Boeing internal 2007 email subject: “Toxicity?”, speaks of the cabin air problem and ends with a damning sentence:’
See the Boeing email and continue reading here:
In case you missed it -
‘Senator Josh Hawley Ruthlessly Grills Boeing CEO, Asks Him Point Blank Why He Hasn't Resigned’
https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=2-dAvZ-_HuYMSR0j&v=35tlqhTW5ls&feature=youtu.be
Both Boeing and Airbus continue to claim safety is their main priority. They also claim the air inside their aircraft is safe for everyone to breathe despite there being no filtration of the air drawn from the engines in any bleed-air aircraft (all commercial aircraft except the Boeing 787).
Who thinks it’s safe for pilots to be exposed to fumes which can cause them to become incapacitated while flying aircraft?
A few examples are here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51633897
https://avherald.com/h?article=4cfb5c82
https://avherald.com/h?article=4bab533d&opt=0
We consider for there to be the slightest possibility of pilot incapacitation a very reckless and completely unacceptable practice.
We also believe incapacitation of cabin crew from fume inhalation is reckless and unacceptable. Cabin crew are primarily onboard aircraft for safety. Should the need arise, they are required to respond to any emergency including the evacuation of aircraft.
In October 2016 in a fume event onboard an Airbus A380, twelve cabin crew ‘were cause for concern’. Fortunately the aircraft diverted and landed safely; but what if things hadn’t turned out so well and an evacuation was required after landing with half of the crew being a ‘cause for concern’?
‘Cabin crew became concerned they couldn't cover the doors for landing with that many cabin crew already affected and close to being incapacitated.’ -
Accident: British Airways A388 near Vancouver on Oct 24th 2016, fumes on board, 26 treated for smoke inhalation
https://www.avherald.com/h?article=49fd405e&opt=0
In 2018 swab samples were taken onboard British Airways Airbus A380’s which confirmed the presence of the organophosphates TCP and TBP:
Exposure to toxic fumes is not acceptable in any other workplace, so why has it been allowed to continue onboard aircraft?
Repeated exposure to low levels of toxic chemicals, particularly mixtures containing Organophosphates, over time can cause dysfunction to the enzymes in the liver responsible for the metabolisation and removal of toxins.
‘Toxic burden can further inhibit the body’s detox system because toxins trigger elevated oxidative stress and increase demand on the body’s detoxification pathways, particularly in the liver.
When the liver can’t adequately eliminate toxins or infectious byproducts, these toxins can clog normal detox pathways and lead to a range of chronic inflammation symptoms.’
https://blog.vibrant-wellness.com/the-surprising-role-of-genetics-in-detoxification?hs_amp=true
‘The broad substrate specificity, isoenzyme multiplicity and inducibility of many of these enzyme systems make them particularly well adapted to handling the vast array of different chemical structures in the environment to which we are exposed daily. However, some chemicals may also be converted to more toxic metabolites by certain of these enzymes, implying that variations in the latter may be important predisposing factors for toxicity.’
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1749210/
Some people have genetic variations in systems of biotransformation or detoxication which makes them more vulnerable and susceptible to injury or diseases from exposure to toxic chemicals.
‘Metabolic detoxification (detox)—or biotransformation—is a physiological function that removes toxic substances from our body. Genetic variability and dietary factors may affect the function of detox enzymes, thus impacting the body’s sensitivity to toxic substances of endogenous and exogenous origin.’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles /PMC8876337/
Shown below are just a few of the toxic chemicals used in aircraft oil and hydraulic fluid which are commonly found in the fat biopsies of airline crew.
These chemicals are all Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC’s) which are known to cause injury at low levels of exposure in mixtures such as aircraft oil:
Benzene:
‘Conclusions: Long-term exposure to low concentrations of ambient benzene significantly increases mortality risk in the general population. Ambient benzene represents a potential threat to public health, and further investigations are needed to support timely pollution regulation and health protection.’
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202308-1440OC
‘Benzene Exposure Leads to Lipodystrophy and Alters Endocrine Activity In Vivo and In Vitro’
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35909554/
Toluene:
‘Prolonged, low-level occupational exposures to pure toluene are rare; most industrial exposures include solvent mixtures and cause a so-called solvent syndrome, resulting in change in personality and progressing to permanent cognitive impairment.’
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/toluene
‘Toluene is a solvent that has been shown to cause sensory irritation (i.e., eye and upper respiratory irritation) and central nervous system depression in humans at high acute airborne exposures. Prolonged or repeated exposures have been associated with neurophysiological decrements and acquired color vision impairment (dyschromatopsia).’
https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crnr/toluenerel082020.pdf
Xylene:
‘The adverse effects of xylene are well documented and their associations with other solvent are also evaluated.’
‘Acute and chronic xylene exposure should be an issue of concern for the population of all countries with special focus on those regions where xylene is observed in high concentration.’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4743476/
‘This systematic review highlighted the current literature regarding the toxicity of technical xylene or mixed xylene on the female reproductive system. Based on human, animal, and in vitro studies, technical xylene affects the female reproductive system mainly from inhalational exposure. Technical xylene caused disturbances in menstrual regulation, endocrine performance, and ovarian cell functions.’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9144477/
Trichloroethane:
‘1,1,1-TCE is only minimally toxic via acute exposure; however, long-term exposure affects the central nervous system. 1,1,1-TCE exposure can also produce depression of respiration and blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmias and mild hepatotoxic effects.’
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123864543009556
‘How can 1,1,1-trichloroethane affect my health?
Breathing in 1,1,1-trichloroethane leads to increased tiredness. It also causes reduced hand-eye coordination, speed, and reaction time. Nervous system effects have been seen in both humans and animals.
Based on studies in animals and a few reports in humans, 1,1,1-trichloroethane may lead to liver disease and changes to proteins in the liver. Breathing it in may also cause fatty changes in the liver, swelling of liver cells, and noncancerous tumors.
Studies in humans and animals also show that breathing in 1,1,1-trichloroethane vapors leads to a drop in blood pressure and can cause changes in the rhythm of the heartbeat.
Breathing high levels of 1,1,1-trichloroethane can also lead to respiratory failure and death.’
A list of some organic solvents which are endocrine disruptors:
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC’s):
To date, 117 EDC’s have been found in aircraft cabin air.
‘Whether low doses of EDCs influence certain human disorders is no longer conjecture, because epidemiological studies show that environmental exposures to EDCs are associated with human diseases and disabilities.’
- The Endocrine Society (2012)
https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/33/3/378/2354852?login=false
And yes, the Organophosphates used in aircraft oil and hydraulic fluid are endocrine disrupting chemicals too.
It was known from the 1950’s through to the mid/late 1990’s in the U.K. (before the U.K. Government set about changing the science on organophosphates) exactly how toxic and dangerous these chemicals are and how prolonged or repeated exposure to low levels could cause chronic injury.
Inappropriate Use of Risk Assessment in Addressing Health Hazards Posed by Civil Aircraft Cabin Air - CV Howard (2020):
https://juniperpublishers.com/oajt/pdf/OAJT.MS.ID.555634.pdf
The science on chemicals provided by the chemical industry which has been promoted by our governments for decades, assured us there was no danger to health and only exposure to very high levels of these chemicals on a one-by-one basis could cause injury.
Exposure limits were introduced to convince us this was the case when only the concentration of each chemical individually is taken into account.
There was no thought of the cumulative effects from complex mixtures of chemicals.
Cumulative Effect Description:
A term used to describe how exposure to more than one chemical might affect the body. Used to explain long-term exposure to mixtures of chemicals, such as pesticides or additives.’
The EU started work on cumulative exposure risk in 2019 for pesticides, many of which have been in use for decades. Better late than never:
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5800
The synergistic effects remain unknown because no research (even the research recommended by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee in 2007 into the Synergistic Effects of the chemicals in aircraft cabin air) has been done in this area; but we do know that certain chemicals and metals can react with other chemicals such as Organophosphates, making them more toxic.
Synergism and the lack of research is still being discussed (in general) sixteen/seventeen years later:
‘Conclusions
Based on evidence available to date, assumptions that synergistic interactions in real-life mixtures are rare and their likelihood being therefore negligible appear to be premature.
Further research aiming to increase mechanistic understanding of the likelihood of synergisms and the frequency of co-occurrence of groups of chemicals giving rise to such synergisms is required.
In the meantime, potential synergisms should not be omitted from debates on the conservatism or otherwise of mixture allocation factor or other regulatory approaches to protect people and environment from mixture effects.’
Synergistic effects of chemical mixtures: How frequent is rare?
By Olwenn V. Martin
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468202023000396
We still don’t know the concentrations of chemical contaminants produced during fume events or the concentrations in the air onboard aircraft at low levels on every flight, because the aviation industry will not install monitoring equipment.
Most airlines use Aerotracer and/or Gray Wolf in their engineering departments to determine the cause of contamination after fume events.
This video on Aerotracer is from nine+ years ago:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=7If1F5SipkQ
Gray Wolf:
So the technology is available and could easily be adapted for use onboard aircraft. We would then find out exactly how safe the air onboard aircraft is.
The current members of the Committee on Toxicity U.K. (COT), despite being those supposedly at the top of their medical and/or scientific careers seem to know very little about the effects of toxic chemicals on human health and absolutely nothing about endocrine disrupting chemicals or their effects as shown in their (and the U.K. Government’s) position on aircraft cabin air which was recently reviewed:
‘The COT concluded that the reported levels of the chemical contaminants reviewed (OP’s, VOC’s including as mixtures, CO and CO2) in aircraft cabin air are unlikely to cause adverse health effects in aircrew following acute or long-term exposures.
COT April 2024
Statement 2024/04’
https://cot.food.gov.uk/Statement%20on%20Aircraft%20Cabin%20Air%20Quality#overall-conclusion
Reported Levels? - With no real time monitoring of levels of chemical contaminants onboard aircraft and therefore no data, that is an absurd comment.
‘Unlikely to cause adverse health effects?
Try telling that to the thousands, if not tens of thousands worldwide who can no longer work or no longer fly for a living because of their chronic injuries.
And try telling that to the families who have lost family members at young ages who flew as pilots or cabin crew.
The truth on Aerotoxic Syndrome, Gulf War Syndrome, Sheep-Dip and Organophosphate Pesticide Poisoning, all of which has had devastating effects (and continues to have devastating effects) on the lives of millions of people worldwide is emerging and will be exposed.
We can only hope that Karma will deal with those responsible and with those who enable this dreadful charade to continue.
For further information on Aerotoxic Syndrome please visit:
Thank you for your continued support.