Report highlights risk of pesticides used on aircraft

Airline passengers and crew can be exposed to hazardous pesticides without
their knowledge, according to a report by the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives
to Pesticides (NCAP). “Flyers Beware: Pesticide Use on International and
Domestic Aircraft and Flights” states that pesticides are commonly used
on both cargo planes and passenger aircraft in the US and other countries.

 Some airlines spray voluntarily, while others spray to comply
with regulations or requirements. Pesticides are used in occupied or unoccupied
passenger cabins, galleys, cockpits and cargo holds.

NCAP calls for US airlines to implement non-toxic pest prevention and
management practices and for the US government to put greater pressure
on other countries to prohibit or discourage use of hazardous pesticides
on aircraft.

On flights to at least six countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada,
Madagascar, Kiribati, India and Uruguay), passengers are directly sprayed
with pesticides while still strapped in their seats after landing. According
to one airline attendant, passengers' clothing, skin and hair may be soaked
with the pesticide.

On flights to many other countries, passengers are exposed to pesticides
sprayed prior to boarding — without their knowledge.

This type of spraying leaves long-lasting residues in the passenger
cabin and is required on some or all flights to Australia, New Zealand,
Jamaica, Barbados, Panama, Fiji and Guam.

Passengers on domestic US flights may also be exposed to residues of
insecticides sprayed on planes. In fact, many pesticide products are registered
in the US for use on aircraft, including in passenger cabins, and these
chemicals can be used immediately prior to boarding.

Several insecticide active ingredients commonly used on aircraft, including
permethrin, cypermethrin and piperonyl butoxicide, are classified by the
US Environmental Protection Agency as possible human carcinogens. Others
are classified as reproductive hazards or suspected endocrine-disrupting
chemicals.

NCAP's report urges passengers to contact airlines, US government agencies,
and international tourism bureaus to protest against the practice of spraying
passengers and aircraft cabins with toxic pesticides.

The report summarises incidents in which people have reported illnesses,
and even one death due to in-flight spraying. It also describes complaints
made by flight attendants and passengers that such spraying has caused
headaches, nausea, fatigue, seizures and, in extreme cases, memory loss,
a reduction in cognitive skills or a depressed immune system.

The US stopped spraying occupied aircraft in the 1970s, citing health
risks to passengers. US health officials report that there have been no
outbreaks of vector-borne disease since then that can be attributed to
hitchhiking insects arriving on incoming aircraft.

The full report on aircraft spraying is available on NCAP's web site
at <http://www.efn.org/~ncap/AirlineSpray.pdf>.

[From Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service.]

From GLW issue 346