Levels during boarding and taxiing were far above those defined as high by the World Health Organization
A study has revealed the concentrations of ultrafine particles breathed in by airline passengers.
A team of French researchers, including those from Université Paris Cité, built a pack of instruments that was flown alongside passengers from Paris Charles de Gaulle to European destinations. The machinery was placed on an empty seat in the front rows or in the galley.
Ultrafine particles are impossible to see and are often missed by conventional monitoring techniques, and therefore they are not covered by air pollution laws.
In 2021, the Dutch Health Council and the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the growing evidence that ultrafine particles are damaging our health. This includes 75 studies, mostly relating to lung inflammation, blood pressure and heart problems, along with risks to foetal growth. Technical differences between the studies, however, meant that the WHO was unable to set a standard. Since then a study of nearly 11 million people in the Netherlands found that exposure to ultrafine particles over several years was linked to early deaths includingof lung cancer.
