26 Jun 2006 : Column 32W
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on contaminated air in airliners; [80119]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effect on safety of contaminated air in airliners. [80147]
Gillian Merron: The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology did an investigation, which reported in November 2000 and said:
“The absence of confirmed cases of tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) poisoning from cabin air and the very low levels of TOCP that would be found even in the highly unlikely worst case of contamination from oil leaking into the air supply lead us to conclude that the concerns about significant risk to the health of airline passengers and crew are not substantiated.”
There is also a scientific inquiry under way into the global evidence and have commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) based at Imperial College (and funded by Government to advise the Food Standards Agency and other Government Departments) to review evidence from BALPA (the British Air Line Pilots Association).
The COT secretariat put up on its website on 21 June a draft discussion paper. It will discuss this with BALPA further on 26 June, and then there will be a full hearing, in public, which will take place on 11 July.
The next step is to wait for the COT review process to be completed. The Government will be guided by the COT conclusions and recommendations on the way forward.
AOPIS COMMENT:
The UK Government forgets to advise:
1. That inhalation toxicology testing for the short and long term effects of inhaling heated / pyrolised jet engine oils has not been done.
2. The Government also forget to mention that numerous doctors and scientists around the world have stated and published papers linking exposure to contaminated air and ill health in crews and passengers.
3. Tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) is the least toxic of the ortho isomers present in the lowest amount and to refer solely to TOCP under states the toxicity of the oil by 6.14 million.