MEASUREMENT OF CABIN AIR-QUALITY ABOARD COMMERCIAL AIRLINERS

Between April and June 1989, 92 randomly selected flights were monitored to determine prevailing levels of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and other pollutants in the airliner cabin environment. The monitored flights included 69 smoking flights, 8 of which were international, and 23 nonsmoking flights, all of which were domestic. Selected ETS contaminants (nicotine, respirable suspended particles and carbon monoxide), as well as ozone, microbial aerosols, carbon dioxide and other environmental variables were measured in different parts of airliner cabins. Particle and nicotine concentrations were highest in the smoking section and were somewhat higher in the boundary region near smoking than in other no-smoking sections or on nonsmoking flights. Levels of these ETS tracers were correlated with smoking rates observed by field technicians, and their levels in the boundary section were higher when more proximate to the smoking section. CO2 levels were sufficiently high and humidity levels were sufficiently low to pose potential comfort problems for aircraft occupants. Ozone levels were well within existing standards for airliner environments, and levels of microbial aerosols were below those in residential environments that have been characterized through cross-sectional studies.