URL: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/29/2727025.htm
Qantas accused of toxic gas leaks

   Posted October 29, 2009 00:00:00
   Matthew Benns says one particular jet was leaking toxic air into the
   cabin for nine months. 

   Matthew Benns says one particular jet was leaking toxic air into the
   cabin for nine months. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin, file photo)
     * Audio: Qantas accused of ignoring toxic air problem in jets (PM) 

   Poor maintenance standards at Qantas have put crew and passengers in
   danger from a poison entering the air conditioning of some planes,
   according to a new book.

   The Men Who Killed Qantas accuses Australia's aviation flag carrier of
   flying one particular jet with toxic air for nine months without
   getting the problem fixed.

   It says the plane's jet engine was leaking carcinogenic vapours from
   jet oil into the cabin.

   This is possible because air on a plane passes through the engine,
   where it is superheated before being cooled and pumped into the cabin.

   The book's author, journalist Matthew Benns, has told ABC Radio's PM
   that 31 Qantas crew members were also exposed to toxic fumes over a
   12-month period.

   Mr Benns says the chemical of concern is an organophosphate, tricresyl
   phosphate (TCP), which can lead to Parkinson's Disease.

   He says people need to know how to detect the gas, which smells of blue
   cheese and vomit.

   "The point of the book is to raise the alarm for people, so if a
   passenger sitting there ... smells [something], they can complain," Mr
   Benn said.

   "They can say 'hey, I know what that is now' - then the airline has to
   fix the plane."

   Mr Benns says no passengers on affected planes have been notified.

   "While we know that some of the crew members have been badly affected,
   we don't know what happened to any of those passengers on those
   planes," he said.

   "They might be walking around with some strange debilitating illnesses
   that they can't diagnose because they don't know."

   Mr Benn says questions need to be asked about the current systems,
   which people from within Qantas have raised concerns about.

   "The systems that lead to this aren't as rigorous as they should be and
   that this is a very real problem and it needs to be looked at and
   addressed," he said.

   "They have been warning and perhaps those warnings need to be heeded.

   "[Employees] are not the only ones who have been raising the alarm and
   I believe that with the increasing look at the bottom line, so safety
   standards have been reduced."

   In a statement, Qantas says it was given no opportunity to review the
   book prior to publication and denies any claims that it has not met its
   safety or regulatory obligations.

   The airline says safety is at the core of everything it does and it
   meets, and in many cases exceeds, every regulatory requirement.

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