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Flight Attendants Fighting for Safe Airplane Water

AFA-CWA leaders say a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule intended to safeguard drinking water onboard airplanes leaves too much power in the hands of the airlines and puts flight attendants and passengers at risk.

A few years ago, galley and lavatory water samples collected and analyzed by the EPA suggested that about 15 percent of aircraft had water supplies contaminated with coliform bacteria (most of which are not harmful to humans, but a few are, including a strain of E. coli that produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness, (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/ecoli.html). More recent samples, collected by only a few airlines and not by the EPA or another independent agency, suggest contamination levels may now be less than 3 percent.

Unfortunately, these airline-obtained samples are being used in part to justify new rules proposed by the EPA to ensure airline water is safe. In response, AFA-CWA Air Safety, Health and Security Director Chris Witkowski stated, "We recommended to the EPA that before proposing an airline drinking water rule it should first obtain and analyze data from all of the airlines' self-tests, and also conduct its own independent tests. It was premature for the agency to issue this proposed rule based on preliminary testing data of unconfirmed validity."

The EPA tests followed a Wall Street Journal investigation of airline water in 2002, which followed-up on tests run by a 13-year-old California student as a science project. On a family trip to Australia and New Zealand, the teenager took tap water samples from nine airplanes and found that seven samples contained E. coli, fecal coliform or salmonella.

The fact that EPA's tests showed contamination occurring at a rate five times higher than the airlines' own tests is clear evidence that independent testing is essential, Witkowski said.
But so far EPA has said only that it "may" conduct audits "as deemed necessary" to ensure that airlines are complying with its rules. "EPA must mandate routine, independent audits to ensure the public that water on airplanes is safe for all uses," he said.

The public has until July 8 to submit comments on the EPA's 29-page "Proposed Aircraft Drinking Water Rule." AFA-CWA is gathering input from flight attendants and preparing a detailed response.

INOPERATIVE POTABLE WATER ON US AIRWAYS AIRCRAFT

At the local level, AFA-CWA Air Safety Committee will be collecting data on Inoperative Potable Water systems onboard US Airways aircraft and we need your assistance.
Please send to AFA-CWA the following information and data on flights you worked as a crewmember that were dispatched with passengers and without any operative potable water.

You can send us this data via the Inoperative Potable Water Form by clicking on following link: www.afausairways.org/EForms/potable_water.htm.

A CBS message dated January 28, 2008, advised US Airways flight attendants of the company's actions regarding an Administrative Order of Consent (AOC) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As you have experienced, a direct result of this potable water testing program is aircraft being dispatched without operative potable water.

The company is not providing to AFA-CWA the flight numbers and names of flight crew members who are operating these flights or who have operated these flights in the past. The help and information you provide will be a valuable factor in the ability of AFA to address this issue.

Thank You,

Mike Flores, MEC President
Barrington Johnson, MEC ASHS Chairperson

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AFA Local Numbers
 
Council 41 DCA 703-212-8090
Council 69 BOS 781-289-8454
Council 70 PHL 215-492-0840
Council 82 LGA 315-736-3483
Council 89 CLT 704-527-0325

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