A bill introduced in Congress last month by California Sen. John Garamendi aims to address the fact that the air people breathe on airplanes comes directly from jet engines.
The legislation could require planes to be equipped with sensors to detect air pollution from heated engine oil or other mechanical failures.
Former pilot John Hoyte lives in Bracondale, Norwich, and left the profession in 2005 after suffering adverse reactions, dizziness, headaches and headaches.
The 67-year-old believes that the polluted air inside the planes poisoned him and founded a group called the Aerotoxic Association, or “Group A.”
The group believes that potentially thousands of crew and passengers may have been poisoned by polluted air while flying.
Hoyte said the new US legislation is a “breakthrough” for the issue.
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“This is a global problem affecting aircraft in every country and this is long overdue,” said Hoyte, who had a long and varied flying career.
“The key part now is to find out how the airlines got away with this for so long because crews and passengers are still being harmed.
“It’s painful for me to talk about it, after so many years I still wonder how it will end.”
Another member of ‘Group A’ is retired financial controller Ian Warren, from Billingford, near Dereham.
The 76-year-old joined after meeting Hoyte seven years ago and believes the new legislation is a “big win” for raising awareness of the issue.
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Warren added: “There has been a great deal of avoidance by airlines to acknowledge that there is a problem.
“We hope this will raise people’s awareness of the issue, so that people in the industry accept what has happened and investigate it with some honesty.
“It’s a step in the right direction for people to start taking notice.”
The great toxic debate
The Aeroxtoxic Association believes that the current system of most commercial aircraft – of drawing air for the cabin through the engine – is flawed because if a failure occurs in the engine seals, known as an “event of smoke,” the air will be exposed to potentially harmful oil particles that then pass into the cabin.
Complaints from pilots, aircrew and passengers after exposure to these chemicals range from migraines, fatigue and breathing problems, to memory loss and depression.
While homes and offices across the country are required to have carbon monoxide detectors, airplanes do not have this requirement.
Under the bill introduced in the US, the airline industry would be forced to adopt new measures to protect passengers and crew members from toxic fumes on planes.
