Stop Oil Fumes in Cabin Air

Improving Aircraft Air Quality

This global initiative strives to bring awareness of the potential for oil fumes to contaminate the breathing air supply on passenger aircraft and to call for changes to address this ongoing problem.

The Problem:

Source of fumes: The ventilation air supplied to the aircraft cabin and flight deck is first compressed in an engine that is lubricated with oils which contaminate the breathing air supply.
Definition of a fume event: A fume event is the unintentional release of heated engine oil or hydraulic fluid into the aircraft cabin air supply, often characterized by a distinct smell described as "dirty socks" and usually without any visible smoke or haze.
Health issue: Globally, crewmembers and passengers have documented acute and chronic symptoms, dominated by neurological symptoms such as headache and cognitive impairment.
Flight safety issue: Airline pilots have reported symptoms inflight coincident with exposure to oil fumes which have sometimes caused impairment and incapacitation. Air accident investigation bureaus have formally recognised the flight safety risks.
Regulatory gap: Despite extensive documentation dating back to the early 1950s current regulations intended to ensure clean ventilation air on aircraft are not being met, and neither specialized filters nor sensor systems for oil fumes are required.

The Solution:

Future pressurised aircraft designs must not supply engine “bleed air” to the cabin and flight deck.
Current pressurised aircraft that use bleed air systems must be fitted with effective air cleaning/filtration or retrofitted with alternative technologies like the electrical compressors used on the Boeing 787. Initiate this process by 23-Jun-2026 with fleet-wide compliance by 1-Jan-2030.
All pressurised aircraft that use bleed air systems must transition to the least hazardous engine oils available on the market.
Current pressurised aircraft with bleed air systems must be fitted with real-time fume alert systems (ultrafine particles and carbon dioxide) to help crews and engineers identify the source of oil fumes and to distinguish oil from exhaust fumes. Initiate this process by 23-Jun-2026 with fleet-wide compliance by 1-Jan-2030.
Crewmembers and passengers who are symptomatic after exposure to onboard oil/hydraulic fumes should be given the relevant product safety data sheet and post-exposure medical protocol (Burdon et al., 2023) for medical treatment.