The issue and debate around the contamination of the breathing air supply in aircraft has existed since the dawn of pressurized flight. Since the introduction of ‘bleed air’ in the late 1940s, aviation has seen a steady increase in reports of the air supply being contaminated. From US Air Force crews in the 1950s being adversely affected in flight, to passenger and crew exposures still occurring in 2017. This paper seeks to provide the reader with a brief overview of the history of this important on-going health and flight safety issue.
This paper is part of: "2017 International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference : Conference Proceedings". In: Journal of Health and Pollution, Vol. 9, No. 24 (Dec. 2019)