uptpilot

We pay plenty of money to our unions, they have a louder voice. They choose instead to waste time/money on cockpit doors and fancy hotels for themselves. They should be lobbying for environmental workplace safety such as chronic toxic exposures (get a good dose of TCPs, diesel exhaust, etc.when doing a walk around?) and radiation exposure (how many pilots are getting cancer?)...





http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013...2-s300-c85.jpg

• https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/air...radiation.html
• http://infobeautiful4.s3.amazonaws.c...tion_chart.png

One of the biggest problems we encounter as pilots fighting against exposure to radiation is the notion that there is a safe dosage of radiation. There is actually no safe dosage. Some radiation such as alpha particles are easy to protect against since they can be stopped with a piece of paper, The cockpit window, your clothing, or sunglasses. However, are there radiation such as gamma rays and x-rays will penetrate anything. It only takes one subatomic particle to mutate the DNA of one cell out of trillions and trillions of cells in your body. All of these probabilities are infinitesimally small, the effect is lethal every time. The best that you can do is lower the odds. I personally think that we should demand that our occupation does not expose us to more radiation then we would receive naturally being on the ground.

Also one more thing about the radiation dose of the aforementioned charts regarding trans continental flights: those are measured for a passenger shielded by the aircraft vessel. The radiation amount received by pilots in a relatively unshielded front end with only plexiglass is significantly higher.

Considering that, if one transcontinental flight is almost the same radiation as an x-ray, how many x-rays equivalents are you receiving a year if you do it several hundred times?


Step One is to be critical of uneducated apologists....

uptpilot

Something occurred to me...

JB has been very proactive in action and voice. They are vested in finding a resolution to the problem. However, there are a few key things to take note of:

• "odors". This is a very specific legal term. Notice how they automatically conclude it's just an odor versus a "possible fume".
• JB is relying on authority figures to make a conclusion. Notice how they allow firefighters to give a hypothesis and they pass it off as nail polish?
  • Was a chemical test conducted to show bloodwork matching the chemical composition of nail polish?
  • Was a controlled experiment conducted to reproduce the symptoms?
  • A proper conclusion does not rely on authority figures to get credibility. As a general rule, i am never convinced because a medical doctor, nurse, firefighter, policeman, or manager says so. The beauty of science is that you can reproduce the results without relying on faith of authority figures.
• They also say that we have experienced such "odors" for the history of the industry.
  • True, and there is plenty of government documentation isolating this as a problem starting from the 1950's.
  • Business as usual isn't a valid way of dismissing the issue. It's still an issue whether it's been there for 100 years or not.
• JB is dismissing claims in a clever way but never actually meeting a scientific standard. Their conclusions need more scientific analysis. Up until then, they should say "INCONCLUSIVE" rather than passing off their hypothesis as fact.
• Are we supposed to be "ok" with casual exposures to bleed air contaminants such as APU exhuast ingestion just because we know the source? (think about that....)

DirkDiggler

I'm not at JB but I have gotten into arguments with MX over this very issue. Basically the plane smells like the strongest musty socks smell you could ever imagine, where your eyes are burning... and the guy is like "i don't smell anything." I'm like hey a-hole, 3 of us can smell this, I can replicate it...and you don't smell anything, maybe someone else should come out because we're not going. Ultimately I've caused 6 engine changes and counting because of this issue (always call and follow up).

ALPA is very weak on this issue, nothing on their webpage, no emails about this new Cabin Air Safety Act...which the flight attendant unions are all over, go figure.

queue

Of course they are... very low performance people.

They use excuses such as "bigger fish to fry", "gotta have priorities", "we need more money", "Railway Labor Act prevents us", "it's been that way for 60 years and it'll never change", etc... these aren't exactly the young 25 year old engineers that got us to the moon!

Every fish must be fried, even if the people we pay at ALPA don't think so. Don't expect ALPA to help you, they are too busy spending your 1.9% at fancy hotels, catering, and the ALPA magazine (which should just go by email). They are outdated and ineffective.

rvr1800

So you'd prefer the old method of the "pilot values committee"? Yeah that was super effective!

DirkDiggler

This is a very good article summing up this issue in a nutshell and the massive cover up that is happening. Similar to asbestos...we once thought that was safe.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...ent-flyers-ill

Sliceback

Aviation radiation death risk is approx 1% higher than average.

RiddleEagle18

Another couple FA's taken to the hospital today....


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Std Deviation

This was of their own volition. When I ask, "do you want to go to the hospital" I've already set a psychological tone by asking it that way. FBI interviewing 101: "What speed do you estimate the cars crashed at?" Elicits a higher number than "Can you estimate the speed?"


I personally spoke with the CA. Different perspective than an FA in row 22. The ability of a human to detect and identify discernible odors is weak at best. Humans smell chili. Dogs smell cumin, garlic, bay leaves, kidney beans, etc. We're now defaulting to, " it's an odor" and spring loaded to go directly to panic mode.

DirkDiggler

The whole "it's an odor" or "no big deal" mentality will get you permanently disabled and/or out of work for a long time while you cope with the medical issues these events cause. I too had that mentality once and learned the hard way. But if you don't believe me, watch this guy recall his experience.

https://www.alliedpilots.org/Committees/Aeromedical/Contaminated-Cabin-Air?VideoId=d49bd0ba1f17ebc75c