Debugging Airlines Is Bugging Pax

You're sitting in coach, looking forward to getting home. But between you and the front door is a long Air France flight from Paris to Boston. The aircraft is taxiing toward the active runway when you suddenly look up from your crossword puzzle, alarmed by a bizarre stench in the cabin. You look around and spot the flight attendants calmly spraying the cabin for insects. Would that... er... bug you?

It certainly bothered Dr. Samson Munn, a physician traveling back to Boston with his pregnant wife and their 21-month old daughter on Air France Flight 322 on July 6th. Munn told the "Boston Globe" that his daughter became seriously ill after the cabin was sprayed. He was also worried about the effects of the pesticide on his unborn baby. "The administration to us of the insecticide was against our will, without our explicit permission, and thus in clear violation of medical ethics and generally accepted international norms of medical care," Munn said.

Air France says the pilot decided to have the cabin sprayed after passengers reported seeing flying ants. A Department of Transportation spokesman said the spraying was a bit out of the ordinary, but didn't violate any laws. Still, while the insecticide used, permethrin, was approved for use on airlines in the early 1990s by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regards it as a possible carcinogen, with exposure the most hazardous for children, people with asthma and pregnant women.

FMI: http://www.kefir.net/spray/sandiegouniontrib2.htm