Toxic fumes in plane cabins pose risk, warns coroner

A British coroner has warned that toxic fumes in plane cabins pose a risk of health damage to aircrew and frequent fliers.

Sheriff Stanhope Panye, the senior coroner for Dorset, said those regularly exposed to such fumes faced “consequential damage to their health”.

His comments were made in a Regulation 28 report, to prevent further deaths, following initial investigations into the death of a co-pilot.

Richard Westgate, 43, a co-pilot for British Airways, died in December 2012, believing he had been poisoned by repeated exposure to contaminated cabin air.

Mr Payne’s report, sent to British Airways and the Civil Aviation Authority, raised five serious matters of concern about contaminated air and cabin air quality.

• That organo-phosphate compounds are present in aircraft cabin air.
• That the occupants of aircraft cabins are exposed to organo-phosphate compounds with consequential damage to their health.
• That impairment to the health of those controlling aircraft may lead to the death of occupants.
• There is no real time monitoring to detect such compounds in cabin air.
• That no account is taken of genetic variation in the human species, such as would render individuals tolerant or intolerant of the exposure.

Frank Cannon, of Cannons Law Practice, acting on behalf of Mr Westgate’s family, said industry had denied that toxic contamination was present 20 years ago.

Mr Cannon said the industry had stated that such contamination “won’t do you any harm” after scientific tests established its presence in aircraft cabins.

After cases of harm emerged, the position became that the contamination was below minimum safety levels, Mr Cannon claimed.

“Minimum safety levels are a fallacy, with no known scientific basis,” he said. “Real neurotoxic injury is caused by long-term low-level exposure.

“When a plane lands, the passengers get off, but the crew turn around and do the same thing all over again, day in day out.

Mr Cannon said that the figures showed the number of variables such as maintenance, aircraft type, age and hours of engine life. Sample testing never covers a whole flight, so it is unclear whether the figures obtained represent peaks or troughs of exposure, he added.