II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1019

To provide for monitoring of aircraft air quality, to require air carriers

to produce certain mechanical and maintenance records, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 12, 2001

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To provide for monitoring of aircraft air quality, to require

air carriers to produce certain mechanical and maintenance records, 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 ‘‘Aircraft Clean Air Act

5 of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:
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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

3 Aviation Administration.

4 (2) AIRCRAFT AIR QUALITY INCIDENT.—The

5 term ‘‘aircraft air quality incident’’ means an inci6 dent in an aircraft used in air transportation which

7 results in crew members or passengers reporting a

8 symptom that is consistent with exposure to

9 neurotoxins or asphyxiants. Such symptoms include

10 dizziness, fainting, disorientation, memory loss, pe11 ripheral neuropathy, muscle tremors, muscle twitch12 ing, or tunnel vision.

13 (3) MECHANICAL AND MAINTENANCE

14 RECORDS.—The term ‘‘mechanical and maintenance

15 records’’ with respect to an aircraft involved in an

16 aircraft air quality incident includes records regard17 ing the use of, and any loss or leakage of, hydraulic

18 fluids, lubrication oils, or fuel, and records regarding

19 any repairs that are, or could be, reported under the

20 Air Transport Association Specifications, including

21 chapter 2100 (Air Conditioning), chapter 2900 (Hy22 draulic Power), chapter 3600 (Pneumatics), chapter

23 4900 (Airborne Auxiliary Power), and chapter 7200

24 (Engine).
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1 SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF MAINTENANCE RECORDS.

2 (a) REQUEST MADE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any crew member, pas4 senger, or their representative that experiences an

5 aircraft air quality incident may, not later than 30

6 days after the incident, file a request with the Ad7 ministrator for the mechanical and maintenance

8 records of the aircraft involved in the aircraft air

9 quality incident. The request may cover records with

10 respect to the aircraft for the 90-day period pre11 ceding the incident, and the 30-day period following

12 the incident.

13 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PREVIOUS 5-YEAR PE14 RIOD.—Any crew member, passenger, or their rep15 resentative that experienced an aircraft air quality

16 incident in the 5-year period preceding the date of

17 enactment of this Act may file a request with the

18 Administrator for the mechanical and maintenance

19 records of the aircraft involved in the aircraft air

20 quality incident if the request is made not later than

21 90 calendar days after the date of enactment of this

22 Act.

23 (3) VERIFICATION BY HEALTH CARE PROFES24 SIONAL.—A request described in paragraph (1) must

25 include a statement by a health care professional
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1 verifying that the individual making the request re2 ported at least 1 symptom described in section 2(2).

3 (b) REQUEST FORWARDED TO AIR CARRIER.—With4 in 15 calendar days of receiving a request described in

5 subsection (a), the Administrator shall record receipt of

6 that request, and forward it to the air carrier.

7 (c) INFORMATION TO BE DISCLOSED.—An air car8 rier that receives a request described in subsection (a)

9 shall provide the requested records to the individual mak10 ing that request—

11 (1) not later than 15 calendar days after receiv12 ing the request described in subsection (a)(1); or

13 (2) not later than 30 calendar days after receiv14 ing a request described in subsection (a)(2).

15 (d) CIVIL PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any air carrier that does not

17 produce the records requested pursuant to this sec18 tion shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for

19 each day that the air carrier fails to produce the

20 records.

21 (2) FINES INCREASED FOR INFLATION.—In the

22 case of any calendar year beginning after 2001, the

23 dollar amount described in paragraph (1) shall be

24 increased by an amount equal to—

25 (A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
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1 (B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter2 mined under section 1(f)(3) of the Internal

3 Revenue Code of 1986 for the calendar year in

4 which the fine is assessed, determined by sub5 stituting ‘‘calendar year 2000’’ for ‘‘calendar

6 year 1992’’ in subparagraph (B) of such section

7 1(f)(3).

8 (e) RETENTION OF MECHANICAL AND MAINTENANCE

9 RECORDS.—The Administrator shall require that air car10 riers retain the records described in section 2(3) for a pe11 riod of not less than 5 years, or for such longer period

12 if required under any other provision of law.

13 (f) RETENTION OF RELATED MATERIALS AND DOCU14 MENTS.—The Administrator shall require that air carriers

15 retain all reports, investigative documents, studies, data,

16 memos, and letters relating to or arising from any com17 plaint, report, or request regarding air quality on aircraft

18 for a period of not less than 10 years.

19 SEC. 4. RELEASE OF FILTRATION MEDIA.

20 (a) REQUEST MADE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any crew member, pas22 senger, or their representative that experiences an

23 aircraft air quality incident may file a request with

24 the Administrator not later than 30 days after the

25 incident for the filtration media used in the air sup-
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1 ply system of the aircraft involved in that aircraft

2 air quality incident.

3 (2) VERIFICATION BY HEALTH CARE PROFES4 SIONAL.—A request described in paragraph (1) must

5 include a statement by a health care professional

6 verifying that the individual making the request re7 ported at least 1 symptom described in section 2(2).

8 (b) REQUEST FORWARDED TO AIR CARRIER.—With9 in 15 calendar days of receiving a request described in

10 subsection (a), the Administrator shall record receipt of

11 that request, and forward it to the air carrier.

12 (c) MEDIA TO BE PROVIDED.—An air carrier that

13 receives a request described in subsection (a) shall provide

14 the filtration media to the Administrator not later than

15 30 calendar days after replacing the requested filtration

16 media.

17 (d) ACTION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

19 receipt of filtration media under subsection (c), the

20 Administrator shall—

21 (A) analyze the media to determine the

22 content and chemical properties of any mate23 rials contained in the filtration media; and
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1 (B) provide the results of the analysis per2 formed under subparagraph (A) to the indi3 vidual making the request in subsection (a).

4 (2) RETENTION OF INFORMATION.—The Ad5 ministrator shall retain the results of any analysis

6 performed under paragraph (1) for a period of not

7 less than 5 years.

8 (e) CIVIL PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any air carrier that does not

10 produce the filtration media requested pursuant to

11 this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of

12 $1,000 for each day that the air carrier fails to

13 produce that media.

14 (2) FINES INCREASED FOR INFLATION.—In the

15 case of any calendar year beginning after 2001, the

16 dollar amount described in paragraph (1) shall be

17 increased by an amount equal to—

18 (A) such dollar amount, multiplied by

19 (B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter20 mined under section 1(f)(3) of the Internal

21 Revenue Code of 1986 for the calendar year in

22 which the fine is assessed, determined by sub23 stituting ‘‘calendar year 2000’’ for ‘‘calendar

24 year 1992’’ in subparagraph (B) of such section

25 1(f)(3).
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1 (f) RETENTION OF FILTRATION MEDIA.—The Ad2 ministrator shall require that an air carrier retain and

3 properly store all filtration media for a period of not less

4 than 45 days after any filtration media is replaced.

5 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON PRODUCTS

6 USED IN THE MAINTENANCE, OPERATION, OR

7 TREATMENT OF AIRCRAFT.

8 (a) REQUEST MADE TO THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any crew member, pas10 senger, or their representative may file a request

11 with the Administrator for information on the chem12 ical constituents of products (either alone or in com13 bination, including the byproducts generated by

14 thermal degradation or decomposition of those prod15 ucts) used in the maintenance, operation, or treat16 ment of aircraft to which a crew member or pas17 senger may be or may have been directly exposed.

18 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR THE PREVIOUS 5-YEAR

19 PERIOD.—Any crew member, passenger, or their

20 representative may file a request with the Adminis21 trator for the information described in paragraph

22 (1) regarding a product that was used during the 5-

23 year period preceding the date of enactment of this

24 Act if the request is made not later than 90 calendar

25 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 (b) REQUEST FORWARDED TO AIR CARRIER.—With2 in 15 calendar days of receiving a request described in

3 subsection (a), the Administrator shall record receipt of

4 that request, and forward it to the air carrier.

5 (c) INFORMATION TO BE DISCLOSED.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An air carrier that receives

7 a request described in subsection (a) shall provide

8 the information to the individual making that

9 request—

10 (A) not later than 15 calendar days after

11 receiving a request described in subsection

12 (a)(1); and

13 (B) not later than 30 days after receiving

14 a request described in subsection (a)(2).

15 (2) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.—An air

16 carrier shall provide to a person making a request

17 described in subsection (a) the following:

18 (A) Information on the toxicity and toxi19 cology of the products described in subsection

20 (a).

21 (B) Any report of an aircraft air quality

22 incident, including any first aid and medical

23 treatment or tests required by any person in

24 connection with the aircraft air quality incident.
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1 (C) Any monitoring data, including meas2 urements of exposures of personnel in the work

3 environment, measurements of ambient air and

4 surface contamination in the work environment,

5 and in-duct measurements.

6 (D) All reports, investigative documents,

7 studies, memos, and letters related to or arising

8 from any complaint, report, or request regard9 ing air quality on aircraft.

10 (E) Any health or symptom survey distrib11 uted to crew members.

12 (d) CIVIL PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any air carrier that does not

14 produce the information requested pursuant to this

15 section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more

16 than $1,000 and not less than $100 for each day

17 that the carrier fails to produce the records.

18 (2) FINES INCREASED FOR INFLATION.—In the

19 case of any calendar year beginning after 2001, the

20 dollar amount described in paragraph (1) shall be

21 increased by an amount equal to—

22 (A) such dollar amount, multiplied by

23 (B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter24 mined under section 1(f)(3) of the Internal

25 Revenue Code of 1986 for the calendar year in
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1 which the fine is assessed, determined by sub2 stituting ‘‘calendar year 2000’’ for ‘‘calendar

3 year 1992’’ in subparagraph (B) of such section

4 1(f)(3).

5 (e) RETENTION OF INFORMATION ON PRODUCTS AND

6 BYPRODUCTS.—The Administrator shall require that an

7 air carrier retain the records described in this section for

8 a period of not less than 5 years, or for such longer period

9 as is under any other provision of law.

10 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER DISCLOSURES.—The

11 information required to be provided under this section

12 shall be provided to the crew member, passenger, or their

13 representative in addition to any information provided in

14 the material safety data sheet.

15 SEC. 6. CABIN PRESSURIZATION.

16 (a) STUDY OF CABIN OXYGEN LEVELS.—The Ad17 ministrator, in consultation with the National Academy of

18 Sciences Committee on Air Quality in Passenger Cabins

19 of Commercial Aircraft, shall award a grant to an eligible

20 applicant described in subsection (b) to conduct an

21 aeromedical research study to determine what cabin alti22 tude must be maintained to provide sufficient oxygen to

23 ensure that the short- and long-term health of 95 percent

24 of a representative sample of cabin crew and passengers

25 is not adversely affected.
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1 (b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—An eligible applicant de2 scribed in this subsection is an expert in an appropriate

3 academic field who is affiliated with a school of public or

4 occupational health that does not receive funding from the

5 airline industry.

6 (c) ELEMENTS OF THE STUDY.—The study shall

7 include—

8 (1) measurements of blood oxygen saturation

9 collected at cabin altitudes that range from 5,000 to

10 8,000 feet from a sample of crew members and pas11 sengers selected to represent the range of weight

12 and health considerations that could affect blood ox13 ygen transport (including cardiovascular and res14 piratory conditions); and

15 (2) a review of existing data and published lit16 erature.

17 (d) REPORT.—The eligible applicant selected to re18 ceive the grant under this section shall complete the study

19 and submit a report regarding the results of the study to

20 the Administrator not later than 18 months after the re21 ceipt of the grant funds.

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