The Aerotoxic Association was set up on 18 June 2007 at the British Houses of Parliament by Captain John Hoyte. The association is run by a group of airline pilots who believe they were made ill by the cabin air on jet aircraft, with the assumption that the bleed air was contaminated with engine oil. The name created by those alleging that such an illness exists, is Aerotoxic Syndrome. The aims of the association are to inform aircrew and passengers about the alleged dangers of cabin air, provide help and support and to lobby for change in regulations to improve the quality of cabin air on airliners.[1][2]
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In contrast to the claims of the Aerotoxic Association "Studies such as the European CabinAir project have shown that normally the levels of chemical and biological contaminants in aircraft are less than in many work environments such as office buildings."[3]
Additionally, Prof Michael Bagshaw has concluded there have been no peer-reviewed recorded cases of neurological harm in humans following TCP exposure (the accused toxic ingredient in jet engine oil). Bagshaw cited an unpublished report from the Medical Toxicology Unit at Guy's Hospital in 2001. That report examined all exposures dating back to 1943 which showed that all documented exposures were to high concentrations, greatly in excess of the amount present in jet engine oil. He also noted that studies in Canada and the USA were unable to detect TCP in the cabin during flight. Prof Bagshaw notes that the symptoms are "largely the same as those reported by participants in all phase I drug trials", and are similar to the symptoms experienced by patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, gulf war syndrome, Lyme disease, chronic stress and chronic hyperventilation.[4]