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BEEN EXPOSED TO OIL FUMES ON AN AIRCRAFT?
FIND OUT. GET TESTED.
Click here for all four forms you will need to have your blood analyzed for at least one form of the neurotoxic engine oil additives called tricresyl phosphates. To have your blood tested, it must be drawn within 48 hours of suspected/confirmed exposure to aviation engine oil fumes. Note that the University of Nebraska research team cannot know the identity of the blood donor (crewmember/passenger), so the blood sample must be coded and shipped by a physician/laboratory staff.
If you would like to send a blood sample, here are step-by-step instructions:
- 1)Read this letter;
- 2)Take the blood draw/shipping instructions and blood test requisition form to a doctor or lab.
You will need to have 50 ml of blood drawn within 48 hours of suspected exposure to oil fumes. Typically, airline clinic/urgent care/ERs will not cooperate with the necessary blood draw/shipping, making it very difficult to get your blood drawn in time. Click here for option to get blood drawn quickly, without a doctor’s note. If someone other than your doctor draws your blood, make sure you give them the name/address/fax number of your doctor to whom you want the blood test result sent. They need to write it on the Blood Test Requisition Form.)
- 3)Pay for the blood draw/shipping; and
- 4)Complete this study participant questionnaire.
A member of the research team at the University of Nebraska will notify the lab/doctor of the blood test result (positive/negative). For comparison purposes, the researchers welcome samples from people who were on a flight with affected individuals, but did not experience symptoms themselves, as well as from crewmembers that have not flown on an aircraft for at least three months.
The availability of this blood test is a significant milestone in the journey to enable crews and passengers to demonstrate exposure to engine oil fumes on aircraft, and to better understand both biochemical markers and health impacts of exposure. The University of Nebraska researchers will provide a test result (positive/negative) to prospective participants, but the test is still technically in the research phase. The team continues to accept and analyze a variety of blood samples, expecting to confirm their findings-to-date and to further investigate the biochemical markers of tricresyl phosphate exposures. The research is being led by Professor Oksana Lockridge who is the world’s expert in the butyryl cholinesterase enzyme that forms the basis of this blood test.
Prof. Clem Furlong at the Univ. of Washington (UW) continues his TCP blood test development, and is still accepting and storing samples. of blood drawn within two weeks of suspected exposure to oil fumes. Find more information on Prof. Furlong’s research here.