Friday, September 21st, 2007

Airplane Air

Who hasn't gotten off a plane blaming the stale cabin air for their stuffy nose, dry throat, and headache? A new study says passengers are partly to blame for bad in-flight air. It's not all your fault, however - new research says that ozone brought into the cabin while a plane is in flight may combine with skin oils and other materials in the cabin to make an airborne witches brew of potentially irritating chemicals.

Guests

Charles Weschler
Visiting Professor, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy
Technical University of Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark
Adjunct Professor, Environmental and Occupational Medicine
Member, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey / Rutgers University
Piscataway, New Jersey

Related Links

• Ozone-Initiated Chemistry in an Occupied Simulated Aircraft Cabin
• Airplane Air Quality Worsened By Skin Oil Interacting With Ozone

Segment produced by:Karin Vergoth

Friday, September 21st, 2007

• Lunar X Prize
• Mars Update
• Airplane Air
• Women, Girls, and Math

Elsewhere on Sciencefriday.com

Explore More

• Chemistry
• Health and Medicine
• Public Health
• Transportation