Red spots among flight attendants: observation--a valuable investigative tool

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Bureau of Epidemiology of the Center for Disease Control investigated episodes of red spots appearing on the skin of flight attendants during various Eastern Airlines flights in the first three months of 1980. Review of 132 cases reported during January and February showed that 91 different flight attendants had been affected; 96% of cases had occurred on flights between the New York and Miami metropolitan areas, and 90% on a single type of aircraft. Although some reports mentioned burning, nausea, and headache in association with spots, most reports involved only the occurrence of bright red spots that could be wiped or washed off. Studies of work practices and procedures of flight attendants revealed that the red spots were caused by red ink flaking off the life vests during demonstrations of the use of the vests in preflight safety instructions. The demonstration vests were labelled with ink containing a litholrubine chrome molybdate orange pigment. Following removal of the implicated vests from all Eastern Airlines aircraft, no further cases have appeared.