24 May 2006 : Column 1888W
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of
the effect on airline safety of the inhalation by a pilot of the
organophosphate tricresyl phosphate; and if he will make a statement. [71819]
Gillian Merron: In 2004 the Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA) published safety research into fume events that concluded that
‘no single component or set
of components can be identified which at conceivable concentrations would
definitely cause the symptoms reported in cabin air quality incidents’.
But acids were found which could act as
irritants, and as a result CAA brought in specific troubleshooting and
maintenance actions to minimise the potential for fume events.
Since then the Department has commissioned
the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to conduct a comprehensive evidence
review of toxic risk in cabin air. The. formal COT meeting will be held in
public later this year. We shall be guided by the COT conclusions and
recommendations.
AOPIS COMMENT
Why does the Secretary of State for Transport fail to answer the question asked which was: 'what assessment he has made of the effect on airline safety of the inhalation by a pilot of the organophosphate tricresyl phosphate’. The Government does not answer because they know they have never investigated this, yet are happy to allow passengers and crews to inhale the organophosphate tricresyl phosphate which contaminates the air supply when a contaminated air event occurs. This answer is sadly yet another piece of misinformation by the UK government.