Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

Friends Don’t Let Friends Breathe Oil Fumes on Aircraft: Contribute to Crew and Passenger Health Research Project (GIVE TEN, GET TEN…)

February 11, 2016 09:00

Ever smelled dirty socks onboard? A dirty socks smell in the cabin could be engine oil fumes in the ventilation air. You read that right: the air that comes through the cabin and flight deck vents is first compressed in the engines, and it isn’t filtered before you breathe it on all aircraft except for the Boeing 787. AFA regularly receives reports from members who report dirty socks or musty fumes in the cabin supply air. This exposure can result in problems with memory, balance, speech and other long-lasting symptoms. Nobody thinks it will happen to her or him until it does….

Remember Clean Up Cabin Air and the GIVE TEN, GET TEN campaign? Clean Up Cabin Air is led by volunteer flight attendants—including some of our very own (who wish to remain anonymous)—and their supporters. Clean Up Cabin Air has re-launched its campaign and “re-branded” it as Airline Crew and Passenger Health Research: Blood Test for Oil.

From Clean Up Cabin Air’s campaign page:

We are re-launching our campaign on this important subject, having raised more than $3000 which has already been forwarded to the research team. We are again calling everyone who flies to join our campaign to make air travel healthier. Please GIVE $10 (or something comparable, any currency) to a talented university research team to finish developing an important blood test for airline crews and passengers (more information below). Also, GET 10 more people (Facebook friends, any friends, anybody with a pulse…) to do the same….

Aviation engine oils contain neurotoxic additives, so breathing the fumes can cause lasting damage to your brain. Also, flight safety can be compromised when crews are impaired inflight. You will meet some affected crew members in our video….

Join us. Change the way the industry handles the air you breathe on regular commercial flights. Donate now! Currently, 95% of your donation goes directly to the researchers, and 5% to Indiegogo, per their rules. We have been approved as a non-profit organization, such that contributions (made in the US, at least) will be tax-deductible. EVERY dollar, euro, pound, peso and yen, every bit – however small – helps. Larger contributions are also encouraged… Go ahead, watch our video and add your voice to the people who want clean cabin air now. We thank you.

All flight attendants and pilots need this blood test to be available, so the MEC is encouraging everybody to GIVE TEN, GET TEN. (Helpful hint from your MEC: Remember to confirm that the donation level matches your desired contribution prior to submitting.) As an added incentive and in keeping with the GIVE TEN theme, AFA Alaska will automatically match each member’s donation dollar for dollar up to a maximum of $10,000 total donation. We will work directly with Clean Up Cabin Air to make that happen—it’s easy to contribute, and there is no need for you to do anything for the donation matching!

If you are exposed to oil fumes onboard, then you need to be able to prove it. All of us need the industry to feel more motivated to clean up the cabin air!

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Air Quality Chairperson Karyn Kobe; and AFA-CWA Air Safety, Health and Security Department Industrial Hygienist Judith Anderson

Join the “GIVE TEN, GET TEN” Campaign to Combat Toxic Oil Fumes Onboard

December 10, 2015 17:00

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) encourages you to GIVE TEN dollars to this important cause, and GET TEN friends to do the same in order to combat toxic oil fumes onboard.

As things stand, flight attendants often have difficulty accessing the aircraft maintenance records—if at all—in order to prove that oil contaminated the cabin air. Even when maintenance records are accessed, it can be very challenging to verify after the incident that oil contaminated the cabin air. Additionally, there is no current blood test specific to these fumes. Consequently, airlines often say that “nothing was wrong” and that crews are just imagining their disabling symptoms.

Fortunately, a dedicated research team at the University of Washington is developing a blood test specific to the aviation engine oil. KOMO News ran an article back in September “UW creating test to measure toxic exposure in airplane cabins” in which AFA International President Sara Nelson was quoted. You may be interested to know that Council 19 Seattle and your MEC coordinated to donate $5000 to UW’s Dr. Clem Furlong and his team this past fiscal year.

You can help the effort by visiting GIVE TEN, GET TEN. The GIVE TEN, GET TEN campaign is overseen by Clean Up Cabin Air, which is a group that as of this writing is in the final stages of becoming a non-profit organization. Clean Up Cabin Air is led by volunteer flight attendants—including some of our very own (who wish to remain anonymous)—and their supporters.

From the GIVE TEN, GET TEN campaign page:

“A single person’s TEN DOLLARS won’t fund anything, but our GOAL is to bring ENOUGH people onboard that ENOUGH ten dollar donations are received, that the research will be a success, for the good of crews everywhere. So please, GIVE TEN, GET TEN, and encourage your flying partners, family, friends, people you don’t even like, your dog, your barista, the guy who fixes your car, anyone and everyone, to do the same…

Don’t leave the page until you have given $10 and sent the link to ten people!“

All flight attendants and pilots need this blood test to be available, so the MEC is encouraging everybody to GIVE TEN, GET TEN. As an added incentive and in keeping with the GIVE TEN theme, AFA Alaska will automatically match each member’s donation dollar for dollar up to a maximum of $10,000 total donation. We will work directly with Clean Up Cabin Air to make that happen—no need for you to do anything!

If you are exposed to oil fumes onboard, then you need to be able to prove it. All of us need the industry to feel more motivated to clean up the cabin air!

In solidarity,

Contaminated Cabin Air: Know What To Do

December 4, 2015 05:00

Under normal circumstances, we don’t give the air we breathe onboard the aircraft a second thought. As we’re all taught in initial training, cabin air is bleed air that is taken in through the aircraft engines then cooled and pressurized to make it usable. As with any piece of mechanical equipment, there’s always a possibility of malfunction. As a part of the engines, a malfunction in the cabin air system has the possibility of introducing oil, hydraulic fluid, or other materials into the cabin.

What to do if You Think You’ve Been Exposed to Contaminated Air

Being prepared and knowing what to do in the event of an air quality exposure incident can help you and your crew to the help you need as quickly as possible. Here’s what to do:

1. Identify the Situation

If you encounter unusual fumes (odors), smoke, or haze:

Quickly rule out in-cabin items (e.g. burning food, oven residue, etc.)
Report the situation to the pilots immediately. If the source is the air from the vents in the cabin, there is the possibility of oil/hydraulic fluid contamination.
If no passengers are on board, step off the aircraft, especially if maintenance boards to test systems
Avoid breathing fumes coming from vents

2. Get Help if Sick

If in the air, notify the pilots to call MedLink
If still at the gate, ask the CSA to call paramedics. Deplane if possible.
Seek medical attention as soon as possible. Most tests that detect exposure are time sensitive; even a few hours can make a difference. Your symptoms can persist, worsen, or return after another incident.
Call AFA for help

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Call First

Karyn Kobe, Air Quality Chairperson
(206) 457-2010, Extension 1101

Backup

Seth Heiple, ASHSC Chairperson
(206) 457-2010, Extension 1100

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Print and begin completing the AFA exposure checklist
Review the AFA International Air Quality website

3. Report & Document

File an I-21 (employee injury report) and ASAP report with the company
Keep printed copies of each report for your records
Send a copy of the completed I-21 form to airquality@afaalaska.org
Ask supervisor to complete their Alaska Airlines air quality checklist with you
If sick, file a worker’s compensation claim and see a doctor as quickly as possible. Claims do not start until you see a doctor.
Keep a symptom diary and document everything with a doctor

Keep This Information With You In Case You Need it

Get Your New Quick Reference Card

New air quality exposure quick reference cards have been printed and will soon be available in your base. These cards replace all old versions of the air quality cards (gold or blue lanyard cards or old black and white folded paper card). When you pick up your new card, please discard any old cards that you have and replace them with the new one. This card fold up to the size of a credit card and will fit easily inside a plastic badge holder or in your purse or wallet. On the card, you’ll find information that you’ll need in the event of an air quality exposure incident as well as links to online AFA resources and contact information for AFA representatives who can assist you.

Print Your Own Quick Reference Card

You can download and print a quick reference card at any time by clicking this link.

Find it on the AFA Alaska Website

This information is also available on a dedicated page of the AFA Alaska website at: http://afaalaska.org/ashsc/airquality/checklist.

From the AFA Alaska mobile website or web app, a quick link is located on the main page of the site. For instructions on how to save the AFA Alaska web app as a desktop icon on your IMD or personal Apple device, click here.

If you have questions, please contact your Local Air Safety, Health, and Security (ASHSC) Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt, Air Quality Chairperson Karyn Kobe and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

Much Improved Sleeping While in Uniform Policy!

October 29, 2015 15:00

AFA advocated very hard on your behalf in regard to the recent changes to the sleeping while in uniform policy. Collectively we were successful in getting management to reconsider the policy. Inflight just published Bulletin #2015-0272 “Sleeping While in Uniform” that establishes a much-improved policy.

The bulletin outlines that a flight attendant “may not nest in any public area where customers gather at (a) terminal”, which “includes laying down on (the) floor or on seats inside public areas of (a) terminal” (sic). Essentially this means we may use our discretion to close our eyes as long as we’re not lying down.

Of course a flight attendant may never sleep or give the appearance of sleeping while in uniform when customers are present on the aircraft—except when assigned a customer seat such as when deadheading or commuting.

The bulletin contains an additional clarification that break rooms are acceptable locations even though they may not be appropriate sleep locations for other work groups.

The Master Executive Council (MEC) sincerely thanks Alaska Airlines management for developing a more sensible sleeping policy for the flight attendants. We also thank our members for their resolute support in getting the policy reconsidered!

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

[Updated 1140 PDT] URGENT: Buy on Board Credit Card Sleeve Recall

October 12, 2015 06:58

[Updated information in red text below.]

This morning there was a fire caused by the battery in the buy on board credit card sleeve on a flight from EWR to SEA. Everyone is safe and the flight was diverted. Because of that Alaska Airlines is removing all credit card sleeves from all flights immediately. Management is working on sending out an ACARS message to crews already in flight with instructions.

***Please do not take the buy on board sleeves onboard and do not charge them. Keep your iPhone. Return the sleeve to your base office. If you are on a layover, leave the sleeve with station personnel (e.g. CSA) prior to boarding. Ensure it is powered off with the battery still attached. ***

Once Alaska Airlines management has a better handle on the situation they will be providing more information. There is a message on the splash screen and management will be pushing a message out to all F/A phones this morning. Please help us get out the word quickly!

Take care and fly safe!

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

Friends Don’t Let Friends Breathe Oil Fumes on Aircraft: Contribute to Crew and Passenger Health Research Project (GIVE TEN, GET TEN…)

Join the “GIVE TEN, GET TEN” Campaign to Combat Toxic Oil Fumes Onboard

Contaminated Cabin Air: Know What To Do