Air Travel and Health

Providing a detailed examination of the issues that affect the long term health of aircrew, cabin crew and passengers, Air Travel and Health offers guidance to engineers designing aircraft in the difficult field of legislation and product liability. Examining the facts, anecdotes and myths associated with health and travel, Seabridge and Morgan draw balanced conclusions on which the aircraft operations and design communities can act to provide cost-effective solutions. The authors present a useful reference for aircrew, regulatory authorities, engineers and managers within the aerospace industry, and medical and human factor specialists, as well as an informative resource for undergraduate and graduate students.

Autorentext

Allan Seabridge, Seabridge Systems Ltd, UK
Allan Seabridge is recently retired as Head of Flight Systems Engineering with BAE Systems. He has 36 years experience in aerospace systems engineering, business development and research & development, with major projects worked on including Canberra, Jaguar, Tornado, EAP, Typhoon & Nimrod. Since retiring he has developed an interest in engineering education leading to the design and delivery of systems and engineering courses at a number of UK universities at undergraduate and postgraduate level. He also provides technical consultancy to companies in the aerospace industry.
Allan's interest in the impact of flying on health was initiated by a study he conducted before retiring to ensure that the company had a proven track record in understanding the issues involved. Later tracking of the subject in the press revealed that many travellers claim to suffer from ill health after flying, and this engendered an interest in collating all the records of such claims and looking at the potential impact on aircraft design and of product liability.

Shirley Morgan, UK
Having spent 9 years at BAE Systems at Warton as internal communications manager, Shirley Morgan is a freelance journalist with a broad spread of regular clients for whom she writes and produces material from single articles to whole magazines. Her clients come from many sectors, from higher education to defence and pharmaceuticals, as well as not-for-profit organisations.

Inhalt

About the Authors xv

Preface xvii

Series Preface xix

Acknowledgements xxi

Acronyms and Abbreviations xxiii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Factors Affecting Health 2

1.2 The System of Interest 2

1.2.1 The Operating Environment 2

1.2.2 The Atmosphere 3

1.2.3 The Aircraft Inhabitants 4

1.2.4 Sources of Environmental Stimuli 5

1.3 The Aircraft 6

1.3.1 Military Aircraft 6

1.3.2 Commercial Aircraft 8

1.4 Design Considerations 10

1.5 Summary 14

References 16

Further Reading 16

Useful Web Sites 16

2 Some 'Minor' Ailments 17

2.1 Introduction 17

2.1.1 Health Information 17

2.1.2 Considering the Whole Trip 18

2.1.3 Some Symptoms Reported by Travellers 18

2.1.4 Health Risks 19

2.2 Some Common Conditions of Air Travel 20

2.2.1 General Discomfort 20

2.2.2 Jet Lag (Circadian Dysrhythmia) 21

2.2.3 Fear of Flying (Aerophobia) 23

2.2.4 Discomfort of the Ears 23

References 25

Further Reading 25

Useful Web Sites 26

3 Air Quality 27

3.1 The Environment 28

3.1.1 The Atmosphere 28

3.1.2 Air Quality 28

3.1.3 Cabin Air Supply 29

3.1.4 Sources of Contamination 29

3.2 Aircraft Environments 31

3.2.1 Commercial Aircraft 31

3.2.2 Military Aircraft 33

3.3 Environmental Control Systems 36

3.3.1 Air Cooling 36

3.3.2 Air Distribution 36

3.4 Health Issues 40

3.4.1 Effects of Contamination 41

3.4.2 Aerotoxic Syndrome 41

3.4.3 At Risk on the Ground? 47

3.4.4 Spreading Illness 47

3.5 System Implications 48

3.5.1 Contaminants 48

3.5.2 Future Systems 51

3.6 Request for Further Information 55

References 56

Further Reading 57

Useful Web Sites 58

4 Deep Vein Thrombosis 59

4.1 Introduction 59

4.1.1 How Common Is It? 61

4.1.2 How Long Is a Long Flight? 62

4.2 The Environment 62

4.3 Aircraft Environments 63

4.3.1 Commercial Aircraft 63

4.3.2 Large Military Aircraft 64

4.3.3 Fast-Jet Military Aircraft 67

4.4 The System 67

4.4.1 Commercial Aircraft 67

4.4.2 Military Aircraft 68

4.5 Health Issues 69

4.5.1 Cabin Altitude and Pressure 70

4.5.2 SoWho Is at Risk? 71

4.5.3 Summary of Risks 72

4.6 System Implications 73

4.6.1 Litigation 73

4.6.2 Preventative Measures 74

4.6.3 Advice to Passengers 74

4.6.4 Continuing Work 76

References 77

Further Reading 78

Useful Web Sites 78

5 Noise and Vibration 79

5.1 The Environment 81

5.2 Aircraft Environment 82

5.2.1 Commercial Aircraft 82

5.2.2 Military Aircraft 83

5.3 Health Issues 85

5.3.1 Hearing 85

5.3.2 Vibration 85

5.4 System Implications 86

5.4.1 Limiting Flying Hours 86

5.4.2 Active Noise Cancellation 87

5.4.3 Microphone Disabling 87

5.4.4 Personal Noise Management 87

5.4.5 Risk Assessment 88

References 88

Further Reading 88

Useful Web Sites 88

6 Exposure to Radiation 89

6.1 The Environment 89

6.1.1 Cosmic Radiation 90

6.1.2 Radiation in Space 92

6.1.3 Non-ionising Radiation 92

6.2 The Aircraft Environment 93

6.2.1 Ionising Radiation from Space 93

6.2.2 Non-ionising RF Radiation 94 6.2.3 Understanding the ...