Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9408120020
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
A study in the August issue of Consumer Reports found that almost a quarter of commercial flights don't meet a basic standard for air freshness.
That seemed to confirm what many passengers have sensed: The air up there ain't so fair.
Passengers routinely complain of a range of flight-related maladies, from dizziness and headaches to colds and infectious diseases. The airlines blame dehydration for most passenger discomfort.
``I worry about air recirculating,'' said Jerry Wile, a New York psychotherapist who was flying to Salt Lake City Wednesday. ``I don't get sick normally, but I have gotten colds a number of times after I fly.''
He said long flights were a special problem; he became ill several times after flights to Australia.
About 25 percent of flights tested by Consumer Reports had carbon dioxide levels higher than 1,000 parts per million parts of air - the ``comfort threshold'' for ventilation set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.
Although the magazine tested 44 jet models, it cited only two as veering notably from the average: the Boeing 757, which had comparatively high carbon dioxide levels - 1,552 ppm in one case - and the Boeing 747-400, which had comparatively low levels.
The highest levels were recorded during ascent and descent; the shorter the flight, the higher the carbon dioxide reading.
The problem, according to airline employee unions and researchers, is that newer model planes recycle as much as half of their ventilation air, instead of providing 100 percent fresh air, as older models did.
The carbon dioxide levels are still well below those approved for the workplace by the government.
by CNB