Insecticide by Diana Fairechild
IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO "AVOID BREATHING VAPORS"

Dateline NBC interviewed Diana about the pesticides sprayed in aircraft cabins. Soon after that aired, she was contacted by a passenger/doctor who had taken my advice not only for himself, but for anyone else on his flight who wanted it. He wrote prescriptions for everyone, and 30 passengers on a flight to Australia requested disembarkation before the insecticiding started.

The World Health Organization approves the spraying of insecticides in aircraft cabins in order to try to prevent crop-ruining insects from immigrating between countries. The procedure is called "disinsection"— i.e. killing insects, and it is done in both "occupied" and "unoccupied" airplane cabins.

Disinsection is a country by country choice; each country deciding if it's more important to try to prevent crop-ruining insects and less important to protect the health of humans.

Most vulnerable passengers are those who are sensitive or have compromised immune systems, as well as the elderly, infants, and frequent flyers repeatedly exposed to these toxins that are known to damage the immune, respiratory and nervous systems of humans.

Toxins can build up in the body and have a cumulative effect. I know this first hand. After 21 years of flying to countries that disinsected, I was tested in a double-blind study and found "chemically injured," i.e. poisoned from the insecticides used on planes. At that point, I stopped flying.

In the 1970s, the U.S. government discontinued disinsections due to lack of evidence that it protected crops. After all, bugs in onboard meal carts and galleys are exempt and that's where most bugs congregate, of course, with the food!

INSECTICIDES IN OCCUPIED CABINS

Spraying may be done any time: after departure, before landing, or after landing. Passengers must have their seatbelts fastened while the spraying takes place on flights to these countries:
Australia
Czech Republic
China
Cuba
Egypt
Grenada
India
Kenya
Kiribati
Madagascar
Nigeria
Senegal
Seychelles
South Africa
Switzerland
Tahiti
Trinidad
Tobago
U.K.
Uraguay

Starting at the back of the plane and walking forward, the applicator carries two cans of insecticide and aims them in opposite directions trying to direct the sprays to the narrow space between the overhead bins and the passengers' heads— so all passengers get toxic showers.

The airlines ignore the warning label on the insecticide that says:
• "Hazardous to humans"
• "Avoid breathing vapors"
• "Avoid contact with skin and eyes"

UN-OCCUPIED CABINS

Prior to departure, aircraft are sometimes "bombed" with a "residual" insecticide. Countries that require the residual spray, make sure the plane is sprayed at least every eight weeks believing that during those two months there will be enough fumes in the cabin to kill all insects. Passengers on those flights also get to breathe the fumes.

If the plane does not have a residual spray certificate, then passengers will get sprayed on board (with their seatbelts fastened) when flying to the following countries:
Australia
Barbados
Cook Islands
Fiji
Jamaica
New Zealand
Panama

DIANA FAIRECHILD'S TIPS FOR THOSE WHO MAY BE SENSITIVE TO THE TOXINS IN INSECTICIDES

TIP 1. IN FLIGHT. During the disinsection, cover yourself with an airline blanket to reduce the amount of insecticide that you will absorb through your skin into your body, as well as the amount you will retain in your clothes and hair where off-gassing will continue to release toxins.

TIP 2. AFTER LANDING. Speak to the purser (head flight attendant) and find out if the disinsection will take place before or after landing. If after landing, calmly tell the purser that you are asthmatic, and ask to be exempted so that you can get off before the spraying. Sometimes they require a note from your doctor. If you can get that before flying, they might open the door after landing and let you off before the spraying starts. Don't speak up before takeoff; the crew might consider you unruly and refuse to let you fly. It's best to wait until the plane has passed the halfway point.

ADDITIONAL PRACTICAL AND INTRIGUING STRATEGIES FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS ARE OFFERED IN FLYANA WORKSHOPS AND CONSULTATIONS