Abstract
Contamination of aircraft cabin air can result from leakage of engine oils and hydraulic fluids into bleed air. This may cause adverse health effects in cabin crews and passengers. To realistically mimic inhalation exposure to aircraft cabin bleed-air contaminants, a mini bleed-air contaminants simulator (Mini-BACS) was constructed and connected to an air-liquid interface (ALI) aerosol exposure system (AES). This unique "Mini-BACS + AES" setup provides steady conditions to perform ALI exposure of the mono- and co-culture lung models to fumes from pyrolysis of aircraft engine oils and hydraulic fluids at respectively 200 °C and 350 °C. Meanwhile, physicochemical characteristics of test atmospheres were continuously monitored during the entire ALI exposure, including chemical composition, particle number concentration (PNC) and particles size distribution (PSD). Additional off-line chemical characterization was also performed for the generated fume. We started with submerged exposure to fumes generated from 4 types of engine oil (Fume A, B, C, and D) and 2 types of hydraulic fluid (Fume E and F). Following submerged exposures, Fume E and F as well as Fume A and B exerted the highest toxicity, which were therefore further tested under ALI exposure conditions. ALI exposures reveal that these selected engine oil (0-100 mg/m3) and hydraulic fluid (0-90 mg/m3) fumes at tested dose-ranges can impair epithelial barrier functions, induce cytotoxicity, produce pro-inflammatory responses, and reduce cell viability. Hydraulic fluid fumes are more toxic than engine oil fumes on the mass concentration basis. This may be related to higher abundance of organophosphates (OPs, ≈2800 µg/m3) and smaller particle size (≈50 nm) of hydraulic fluid fumes. Our results suggest that exposure to engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes can induce considerable lung toxicity, clearly reflecting the potential health risks of contaminated aircraft cabin air.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 106718 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Journal | Environment international |
| Volume | 156 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Part of this work was performed under the service contract MOVE/BE/SER/2016-363/SI2.748114 ? ?Investigation of the quality level of the air inside the cabin of large transport aeroplanes and its health implication? funded by the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission. We thank Rob Vree Egberts, Paul H.B. Fokkens and Eric R. Gremmer from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) for their valuable assistance with the ?Mini-BACS + AES? setup and in vitro exposure. The support provided by China Scholarship Council (CSC) during the PhD period of Rui-Wen He in Utrecht University-Institute for Risk Assessment Studies is also acknowledged.
Funding Information:
Part of this work was performed under the service contract MOVE/BE/SER/2016-363/SI2.748114 – “Investigation of the quality level of the air inside the cabin of large transport aeroplanes and its health implication” funded by the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission. We thank Rob Vree Egberts, Paul H.B. Fokkens and Eric R. Gremmer from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) for their valuable assistance with the “Mini-BACS + AES” setup and in vitro exposure. The support provided by China Scholarship Council (CSC) during the PhD period of Rui-Wen He in Utrecht University-Institute for Risk Assessment Studies is also acknowledged.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
Keywords
- Aircraft cabin air
- BMD analysis
- Co-culture
- Fume event
- Mini-BACS
- Organophosphates
