Is Jet Fuel carcinogenic? I heard that it can cause cancer? Is this true? Because if a plane dumps fuel at a low altttitude in an extrmeme emergency, will the people outdoors under the aircraft get cancer? And how about the people who re-fuel the airplanes?
2007-03-28 10:45:52 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
The short answer is "No", but the long answer is "maybe".
According to the Material Safety Data Sheet for Jet-A fuel, it says "The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that there is inadequate evidence for the carcinogenicity of jet fuel in humans."
When it has been burned, that is another matter, and the MSDS says "IARC has determined that there is sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity in experimental animals of diesel engine exhaust and extracts of diesel engine exhaust
particles. IARC determined that there is only limited evidence for the carcinogenicity in humans of diesel engine exhaust. However, IARC's overall evaluation has resulted in the IARC designation of diesel engine exhaust as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) because of the presence of certain engine exhaust components."
http://www.mapllc.com/MSDS/0123MAR019.pdf
2007-03-28 13:25:54 · answer #1 · answered by Jerry L 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jet fuel is Kerosene. If fuel is dumped, it would evaporate immediately and certainly before reaching the ground. An aircraft cannot and would not dump fuel at a low altitude. If the pilots have the time to dump, then time is not of the essence and they would do it at a safe altitude and location. Dumping is not essential and many aircraft these days are no longer designed with the ability to do this procedure any longer.
2007-03-28 11:39:47 · answer #2 · answered by Jetstream 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK ANYTHING in High enough Quantity will kill you. This includes Oxygen, and WATER.
While Benzine MAY cause cancer, if your are dealing with Jet fuel on a Regular basis you take precautions. Such as Gloves, Aprons Etc. An exposure that you are discussing from a Fuel dump would be such a LOW level, short term exposure that it would be a VERY VERY LOW order of probability that you would develop cancer from it.
2007-03-28 21:28:33 · answer #3 · answered by Wolf of the Black Moon 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are parts of jet fuel, such as benzene, which are carcinogenic, however if a plane dumped it's fuel, most of it would evaporate before it hit the ground. One exposure is not likely to kill you either.
2007-03-28 10:49:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whilst it is true that diesel fuels have a higher carcinogenic potential that other fuels, AVTUR is at the higher end of the diesel equation, nearer kerosene and is probably no worse than AVGAS.
2007-03-29 01:08:10 · answer #5 · answered by Ranjeeh D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The primary cause of cancer in the world today is breathing. I guarantee that if you're not breathing, you won't get cancer!
Anything else is a crap-shoot. Some people get cancer, and others, doing the same things, don't. I choose not to obsess about things I have no control over, and prefer to enjoy the good things in life instead of worrying about foolish stuff like this. There's only one sure thing in life, and that's that we're all going to die in the end.
Enjoy life while you have it, because the end comes soon enough for all of us!
2007-03-28 11:17:46 · answer #6 · answered by JetDoc 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Short answer it could...but to much of anything will cause cancer nowadays
2007-03-28 12:47:50 · answer #7 · answered by realbigtaco 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋