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Aircraft air supplies in all current large passenger transport aircraft (apart from the Boeing 787), utilize nonfiltered air (bleed air) drawn from the compressor stage of turbine engines to provide pressurization and breathing air. This design has been utilized since the 1950s and 60s. Synthetic jet engine oils and other fluids in aircraft systems are recognized and known to contaminate the bleed air supply, impacting flight safety, occupational and public health.
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Watterson et al. (2019) studied this question.
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