18 Apr 2006 : Column 48W

Aerotoxic Syndrome

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the Porton Down report on engine oil and Aerotoxic Syndrome affecting pilots during flight. [59354]

Derek Twigg: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has two research reports from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down on the subject of engine oil contamination of cabin air. These are:

"The toxicity of aircraft lubricant pyrolysis products related to Cabin Air Quality Incidents", by J Jenner, B Jugg, J Scawin, N Osmond and P Rice, dated December 2001, and,

"Analysis of aircraft air-conditioning duct contaminants", by J Jenner and B Muir, dated July 2003.

These reports contributed to the CAA paper 2004/04 "Cabin Air Quality" which was published on the CAA's website in 2004. I am informed by the CAA that the technical content of these two reports appears in its entirety in the CAA's paper. The CAA, which has copyright, has no plans to publish these reports separately.

In addition to these two research reports the CAA has a review document:

"A Review of Three Reports on the Toxicology of Aviation Lubricant Constituents", by J Jenner, B Jugg and J Scawin, dated May 2002"

I am informed by the CAA that this paper is a critique of other scientific work, and was prepared for CAA internal use only. The CAA has no plans to publish this paper and the Department does not have a copy of it.