2024
Volume 24, Number 1, pp. 17-23
Human scavenging of carbon monoxide in aircraft cabins
Jeremy J. Ramsden
Department of Biomedical Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Buckingham, MK18 1EG, UK
Carbon monoxide is considered as a toxin inside aircraft. It has long been known as a hazard in general aviation; recent work has raised the possibility of its presence in jetliners, which would be consistent with symptoms of occupational ill health suffered by aircrew. Nevertheless, actual measurements - admittedly on a statistically insignificant proportion of daily flights - show very low levels, very rarely exceeding a few ppm. This paper examines whether the human occupants of the aircraft can themselves scavenge the carbon monoxide that might be brought into the cabin by bleed air from the engines and estimates the inhaled concentrations under this scenario that would be consistent with the actual measurements.