I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7926 

To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to requirements for 

air carriers to disclose certain exposures to toxic fumes, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mr. ESPAILLAT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to 

requirements for air carriers to disclose certain exposures 

to toxic fumes, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airline Travelers Right 

5 to Know Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AIRLINE TOXIC FUME DISCLOSURE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart III of part A of subtitle 

8 VII of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 455—TOXIC FUME DISCLOSURE 

‘‘Sec. 45401. Definition of Administrator. 

‘‘Sec. 45402. Toxic fume disclosure. 

‘‘Sec. 45403. Passenger notification prior to ticket purchase and check-in. 

‘‘Sec. 45404. Immediate notification of toxic fume events aboard aircraft. 

‘‘Sec. 45405. Crew notification of toxic fume events. 

2 ‘‘SEC. 45401. DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATOR. 

3 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘Administrator’ means the 

4 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 45402. TOXIC FUME DISCLOSURE. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

8 shall implement and enforce a right to know of potential 

9 toxic fume exposure policy to inform air carrier pas10 sengers, pilots, and cabin crew employees of the potential 

11 exposure to toxic fumes that cause permanent health or 

12 brain damage that such passengers, pilots, or employees 

13 may encounter onboard passenger-carrying aircraft oper14 ating under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula15 tions. 

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The right to know of poten17 tial toxic fume exposure policy under subsection (a) 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) be made available in all pilot and crew 

20 member contracts; 

21 ‘‘(2) be made available to all air carrier pas22 sengers immediately after purchasing a ticket for 


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1 transportation by such air carrier or a third party 

2 ticket booking entity; 

3 ‘‘(3) include details on the potential for acute 

4 or chronic impairment relating to such fumes to an 

5 individual; 

6 ‘‘(4) include details on chemicals known to 

7 cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive 

8 harm that may be present in jet engine exhaust, 

9 fumes from jet fuel, and exhaust from equipment 

10 used to service airplanes, while making clear that 

11 sometimes such chemicals enter the jet bridge and 

12 are present throughout the duration of the flight; 

13 ‘‘(5) provide information on safety management 

14 systems in place that could protect individuals from 

15 such exposure; 

16 ‘‘(6) provide information on safety management 

17 systems to use if exposed to toxic fumes such as oxy18 gen therapy; and 

19 ‘‘(7) provide that passengers of air carriers and 

20 air carrier crew members have a right to use cabin 

21 oxygen masks in response to a toxic fume event. 

22 ‘‘(c) CIVIL PENALTY.—The Administrator shall im23 pose a civil penalty under section 46301 for each violation 

24 of the disclosure required pursuant to subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 45403. PASSENGER NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO TICKET 

2 PURCHASE AND CHECK-IN. 

3 ‘‘Beginning on the date of enactment of this section, 

4 operators of passenger-carrying aircraft operating under 

5 part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, shall 

6 require passengers to indicate an understanding of poten7 tial toxic fume exposure onboard such aircraft in ticket 

8 purchase process. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 45404. IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF TOXIC FUME 

10 EVENTS ABOARD AIRCRAFT. 

11 ‘‘Beginning on the date of enactment of this section, 

12 the Administrator shall notify all affected customers, 

13 flight attendants, pilots, and aircraft maintenance techni14 cians of any exposure to toxic fumes aboard aircraft as 

15 soon as an air carrier confirms to the Administrator toxic 

16 fumes were detected onboard such aircraft. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 45405. CREW NOTIFICATION OF TOXIC FUME EVENTS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Operators of passenger-carrying 

19 aircraft under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu20 lations, shall inform all crewmembers of such aircraft of 

21 the most recent toxic fume exposure on such aircraft, 

22 whether the issue that led to the exposure has been re23 solved, and if any crewmembers have requested treatment 

24 for such exposure. 

25 ‘‘(b) RIGHT TO DECLINE ASSIGNMENT.—Operators 

26 under subsection (a) shall provide crewmembers with an 


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1 option to decline an assignment onboard an aircraft cov2 ered under subsection (a) if the issue that led to an expo3 sure reported under such subsection has not been resolved, 

4 without penalizing such crewmember. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 45406. CIVIL PENALTY FOR FALSE STATEMENT, MIS6 REPRESENTATION, IMPARTING, OR CON7 VEYING FALSE INFORMATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall impose 

9 a civil penalty under section 46301 for each specified vio10 lation. 

11 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIED VIOLATION.—In this section, the 

12 term ‘specified violation’ means any false statement, mis13 representation, impart, or conveyance of false information 

14 by an operator of an aircraft under section 45404 or 

15 45405 demonstrated by a confirmed illness of a customer 

16 or employee of a flight provided by such operator. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 45407. PENALTY FOR MISSING REPORTS. 

18 ‘‘If an operator of passenger-carrying aircraft under 

19 part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, that 

20 is required to report information under this chapter is 

21 missing any such report on inspection by the Secretary 

22 of Transportation, the operator shall be liable to the 

23 United States Government for a civil penalty of 

24 $100,000.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub2 title VII of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

3 inserting after the item relating to chapter 453 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘455. TOXIC FUME DISCLOSURE’’. 

5 (c) REGULATION.—The Administrator of the Federal 

6 Aviation administration shall issue such regulations as are 

7 necessary to amend section 13.18 of title 14, Code of Fed8 eral Regulations, to include violations under section 45402 

9 of title 49, United States Code, under the procedures for 

10 civil penalties under such section 13.18. 

11 (d) TOXIC FUME SENSORS.—Not later than 15 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Transportation shall issue such regulations as are nec14 essary to— 

15 (1) require operators of passenger-carrying air16 craft under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations, to install sensors that detect toxic 

18 fumes onboard such aircraft; and 

19 (2) amend section 13.18 of title 14, Code of 

20 Federal Regulations, to include violations of the reg21 ulations issued under paragraph (1) under the pro22 cedures for civil penalties under such section 13.18. 

23 (e) OXYGEN FOR CREWMEMBERS.—Not later than 15 

24 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

25 of Transportation shall issue such regulations as are necVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Apr 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7926.IH H7926

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1 essary to require operators of passenger-carrying aircraft 

2 under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 

3 to procure and make available to all crewmembers on such 

4 aircraft mobile oxygen masks for crewmembers assisting 

5 passengers with oxygen masks in the case of a toxic fume 

6 event. 

Æ 


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