Aviation Safety: More Research Needed on the Effects of Air Quality on Airliner Cabin Occupants;Report to the Congress

摘要

Over the years, the traveling public, flight attendants, and the medical community have raised questions about how airliner cabin air quality contributes to health effects, such as upper respiratory infections. Interest in cabin air quality grew in 2003 when a small number of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infections may have occurred on board aircraft serving areas that were experiencing outbreaks of the disease. In 2001, a National Research Council report on airliner cabin air quality and associated health effects recommended that additional research be done on the potential health effects of cabin air. GAO reviewed what is known about the health effects of cabin air, the status of actions recommended in the 2001 National Research Council report, and whether available technologies should be required to improve cabin air quality. GAO recommends that FAA develop detailed plans for its research and surveillance program on cabin air quality, improve the public's access to information on the health risks of flying, and assess the costs and benefits of requiring HEPA filters in commercial aircraft.