Fume event

While most aeromedical professionals believe no long-term health effects exist from fume events, some consumer and aircrew advocacy groups claim that it can cause a medically-unrecognised condition called aerotoxic syndrome.

[6] However, there is some historical evidence that would seem to contradict this statement; in 1959, over 10,000 people in Morocco were paralyzed or otherwise adversely affected after ingesting small quantities of tricresyl phosphate in their cooking oil.

[8] Hydraulic fluid, although non-toxic in small quantities, is extremely irritating to the eyes and skin, which creates a hazard to pilots during a fume event but causes no lasting damage.

[citation needed] It is not mandatory for fume events to be reported in the U.S.[3] Many lobbying groups have been set up to advocate for research into this hazard, including the Aviation Organophosphate Information Site (AOPIS) (2001), the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (2006), and the UK-based Aerotoxic Association (2007).

[11][12] Although a study made for the EU in 2014 confirmed that contamination of cabin air could be a problem, the study also stated: While no scientific evidence to date has found that airliner cabin air has been contaminated to toxic levels (exceeding known safe levels, in ppm, of any dangerous chemical), in March 2010 a court in Australia in ruled in favor of a former airline flight attendant who claimed she suffered chronic respiratory problems after being exposed to oil fumes on a flight in March 1992.

[14] Such testing is infrequent due to Boeing's refusal to install air quality sensors in its planes, fearing litigation from passengers or crew over fume events.

The control panel that controls cabin pressurisation and bleed air distribution on a Boeing 737-800