Pesticides on Airplanes

A trip to the Caribbean seems like a perfect family vacation--if your flight home doesn’t make you sick. Returning from Jamaica recently, I felt so ill from the Air Jamaica cabin air that I almost lost consciousness. I was overcome with nausea and dizziness, and when I talked I didn’t make sense. My husband thought I was having some sort of seizure. I had felt sick in that way only once before, and that was also on an Air Jamaica flight returning to the States. I had obviously reacted to some “agent” in the cabin air, and what occurred to me was that this agent might be a pesticide.

Jamaica is one of twelve countries that require routine “disinsection”—the spraying of pesticides—on all in-bound flights. Grenada, India, Kiribati, Madagascar, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay require spraying while passengers are on board; Jamaica, Australia, Barbados, Fiji, New Zealand and Panama disinsect when either empty or occupied. All U.S. airlines comply.

Disinsection is meant to kill any insects that might pose a threat to plant, animal or human health. But there are cosmetic considerations as well. According to a spokesperson from U.S. Airways, “No one likes seeing a spider on a flight.”

Air Jamaica sprays its planes once a month with Demon WP, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide; according to the airline’s sprayer, Target Industries, it remains effective for up to several weeks. The EPA does not regulate the use of synthetic pyrethroid. According to the Centers for Disease Control, pyrethoids interfere with nerve and brain function. Skin exposure may cause numbness, itching, burning or stinging. If very large amounts of these chemicals were to enter your body you might experience reactions from “dizziness, headache, and nausea . . . muscle twitching, reduced energy, and changes in awareness” to “convulsions and loss of consciousness,” the CDC website says.

In 2001, seeking to prevent routine spraying, United flight attendants and passengers filed lawsuits that have stalled since the airline declared bankruptcy. If you’re concerned, ask before you buy your ticket whether insecticide will be sprayed on your flight. You may want to change your airline, or—if the flight is to a country that requires spraying—your destination.

Additional reporting by Naomi Kirsten

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• People who have allergies or asthma or are pregnant can request an “exemption from disinsection” for on-board spraying, the Fair Air Coalition says.

• Before on-board spraying, cover yourself with a blanket.

• If plane is sprayed when unoccupied, ask for assurances that the cabin will be aired out before boarding and ventilated with fresh air in-flight.

Resources

Department of Transportation disinsection info: www.ostpxweb.dot.gov./policy/safety/disin.htm

CDC pyrethroids info: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp155.html

The Fair Air Coalition (www.flyana.com) and the American Flight Attendants (www.flightattendant-afa.org) seek to prevent routine spraying.