Pesticide Illness Among Flight Attendants Due to Aircraft Disinsection

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beckman J ; Das R ; Nicas M ; Sutton PM ; Vergara X
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Aircraft "disinsection" is the application of pesticides inside an aircraft to kill insects that may be on board. Over a 1-year period, California's tracking system received 17 reports of illness involving flight attendants exposed to pesticides following disinsection. METHODS: Interviews, work process observations, and a records review were conducted. Illness reports were evaluated according to the case definition established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. RESULTS: Twelve cases met the definition for work-related pesticide illness. Eleven cases were attributed to the "Residual" method of disinsection, i.e., application of a solution of permethrin (2.2% w/w), solvents (0.8%), and a surfactant (1.4%); the method of disinsection could not be determined for one case. CONCLUSIONS: The aerosol application of a pesticide in the confined space of an aircraft cabin poses a hazard to flight attendants. Nontoxic alternative methods, such as air curtains, should be used to minimize disease vector importation via aircraft cabins. Employers should mitigate flight attendant pesticide exposure in the interim. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Confined Spaces Epidemiology Insecticides Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Aircraft Disinsection Aircrews Air Curtains Author Keywords: Occupational Pesticide Illness Confined-spaces Flight-personnel Flight Attendants Humans Permethrin Pesticide-residues Pesticides Questionnaires Residual Disinsection Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  345-356
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033544
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2007 May; 50(5):345-356
• Contact Point Address:
  Rupali Das, Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Health Services, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, 3rd Floor, Richmond, CA 94804 USA
• Email:
  rdas@dhs.ca.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Permethrin (CAS RN 52645-53-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Health Services, Berkeley, California
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19870930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20050929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7829bccb3b3345b9554fc848f0a3c0f996cfd849a5bf1d03fc7dd93c61f4e90e0036042a5cdc515bbe71ea09db280df95b31d46edf5cb8beed8a7814edf53566
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189078/cdc_189078_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 175.58 KB ]