By Robert Davis, USA TODAY High-grade air filters would protect the health of airline passengers and should be required on all commercial jet flights, concludes an engineering group that has been studying cabin air quality. The filters, commonly available and already used voluntarily on some commercial jets, remove all of the bacteria and fungus in the air that flows through them and some of the much smaller viruses that float invisibly in planes. The recommendation is part of a larger standard being drafted by the cabin air committee of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, whose members design and maintain airline heating and air systems. The committee includes plane makers, pilots, flight attendants and airline officials. Many of its standards have been turned into binding rules. Passengers and flight attendants have long suspected that poorly filtered cabin air helps spread germs and illness among travelers, but there have been few independent, scientific studies of the problem. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is about to begin a year-long study of the issue. The recommended filters, known as Hepa filters, are not the perfect answer. They can remove germs from recirculated air, but they will not help the passenger who must sit next to an infectious fellow traveler. Viruses can survive for short periods of time in the air and on surfaces like tray tables, seat backs and arm rests of an airliner, say officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It's like any enclosed space. The fact that you have germs in close proximity with other people means there will be an exchange, especially those that are transmitted in the air," says the CDC's Barbara Reynolds. But by requiring filters that rid the air of at least 99.97% of particles .3 microns or larger, the engineering association says, airlines would prevent bacteria and clumps of viruses from being recirculated by the plane's air system. The filters cost about the same as less effective models, but they often require some modification to the air system to eliminate leaks. Some planes already use Hepa filters and some airlines even boast in advertisements that their cabin air is cleaner as a result. But because they are not required, nobody tracks what kinds of filters are used on each plane. The industry's trade group, the Air Transport Association, says that while nobody knows how many planes have the premium filters, they are used on a majority of aircraft and do not need to be required. "If you're doing something voluntarily, why require it?" says the ATA's David Fuscus. "Nothing happens if it's not required," says Judith Murawski, an industrial hygienist with the Association of Flight Attendants who is on the engineering committee drafting the proposal. "Airlines don't follow those regulations because they don't have to. Many airlines have chosen to install Hepa filters because there is a certain public pressure." The Federal Aviation Administration says it will review the group's work as it considers the air quality issue. The FAA has increased its attention to health issues within airline cabins in the past nine months, in part because of public outcry about everything from toxic noise levels to the dangers of heavy carry-on baggage. But enacting new rules in aviation often takes years. "This is one of the things we will be taking a look at in the near future," says the FAA's Les Dorr. The agency is awaiting the results of the NAS study of cabin air quality before deciding what action is needed. |
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