disease

The cabin of a commercial aircraft is a high density environment in which occupants are potentially at risk of airborne transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Trans-continental and trans-oceanic flights are routinely undertaken with hundreds of passengers. During these long flights there is an increased duration of potential exposure to airborne contaminants and bioeffluents. This paper determines a "worst case" risk of tuberculosis infection for the passengers and flight attendants based upon typical design and ventilation parameters of a commercial aircraft.

In developed and developing countries, indoor air pollution is gaining increasing prominence as a public health problem. Time-activity studies and exposure surveys have shown the dominant contributions of indoor environments to population exposures for many pollutants. Mounting epidemiological evidence documents adverse health effects of indoor pollutants and risk assessments indicate that indoor carcinogens may contribute substantially to the population's burden of lung and other cancers. Unacceptable indoor air quality has also been identified as a common cause of symptoms.