- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
(it would be interesting to find out if, and/or why they stopped testing the water ... ?)
Tainted water on PM's plane
E. coli found aboard Forces Airbus fleet, other bacteria on jet used by Chré'©en
Dave a journalist
The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, July 22, 2002
The water supply on Canadian Forces passenger planes has been contaminated with E. coli, and high levels of other bacteria were found in the military's Challenger jets, including the aircraft used by Prime Minister Jean Chré'©en.
Some of the tainted water on the Airbuses was used to make coffee for passengers, but Department of National Defence officials say no one has become sick as a result.
Canadian Forces spokesman Capt. Darren Steele said technicians have been unsuccessful in determining where the contamination on the Airbuses is coming from. "They've determined that it's not the water or the source," he said. "It's actually something in the system and they're trying to find it. So in the interim they have signs up, 'Do not drink the water,' and they bring on bottled water."
The contamination problem was discovered last summer after a medical technician sampled water from the Airbuses at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont. Then defence minister Art Eggleton was told at the time that four of the military's five Airbus planes were contaminated with various kinds of bacteria. Two of the aircraft were determined to have E. coli in the water system.
Tests were then ordered for the water supply on board the Challenger fleet, including the plane used by the prime minister and other VIPs such as cabinet ministers and the Governor General. Five of the Challengers were tested and all showed signs of bacterial contamination, but not of E. coli.
The water supply on the Challengers is generally used for washing.
Military officials considered the risk of infection to be low since it has been standard practice for some time to issue bottled water to Challenger crews and passengers.
But the bacteria-laced water was used to brew coffee on board the Airbuses that transport large numbers of troops on overseas missions. Although the water was not sufficiently boiled to eliminate all sources of contamination, heating the liquid may have reduced the risk, according to the military.
Senior Canadian Forces medical staff determined there was no need to monitor the health of those who had been on board the aircraft.
Regular testing of water systems used to be conducted on the Canadian Forces Boeing 707 transport aircraft, but that program appears to have been stopped when the air force switched over to the more modern Airbuses in the mid-1990s.
It is common in the commercial airline industry to flush aircraft water tanks every six months, super chlorinate the tank and then flush it twice more.
Water systems are now being tested on a regular basis on the Challengers and the Airbuses to monitor for bacteria.
Capt. Steele said there have been no further problems with the Challengers. He noted that the use of bottled water is especially important on overseas flights and missions. "On the positive side it's actually safer in a lot of ways because the aircraft go all over the place," he said. "The bottled water actually provides a safe source of drinking water."
The federal government announced at the end of March it would purchase two new planes at a cost of $101 million to replace the Challenger aircraft now being used to fly the prime minister, governor general and cabinet members.
But opposition MPs have criticized the purchase of the new aircraft, to be bought from Bombardier of Montreal, as a waste of money.
The military also recommended against buying new aircraft, noting that the Challengers have an excellent reliability record.
Government officials said the Challengers were not being replaced because of concerns over their service record or safety. The main reason is that the new aircraft, a more advanced version of the Challenger, will provide greater capabilities. They will have a range of more than 2,000 kilometres over the older Challengers and will be able to fly from Canada to Europe, non-stop. The new aircraft will also be able to land and take off from shorter runways, allowing them to fly into more Canadian communities.
Tainted water on PM's plane
E. coli found aboard Forces Airbus fleet, other bacteria on jet used by Chré'©en
Dave a journalist
The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, July 22, 2002
The water supply on Canadian Forces passenger planes has been contaminated with E. coli, and high levels of other bacteria were found in the military's Challenger jets, including the aircraft used by Prime Minister Jean Chré'©en.
Some of the tainted water on the Airbuses was used to make coffee for passengers, but Department of National Defence officials say no one has become sick as a result.
Canadian Forces spokesman Capt. Darren Steele said technicians have been unsuccessful in determining where the contamination on the Airbuses is coming from. "They've determined that it's not the water or the source," he said. "It's actually something in the system and they're trying to find it. So in the interim they have signs up, 'Do not drink the water,' and they bring on bottled water."
The contamination problem was discovered last summer after a medical technician sampled water from the Airbuses at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont. Then defence minister Art Eggleton was told at the time that four of the military's five Airbus planes were contaminated with various kinds of bacteria. Two of the aircraft were determined to have E. coli in the water system.
Tests were then ordered for the water supply on board the Challenger fleet, including the plane used by the prime minister and other VIPs such as cabinet ministers and the Governor General. Five of the Challengers were tested and all showed signs of bacterial contamination, but not of E. coli.
The water supply on the Challengers is generally used for washing.
Military officials considered the risk of infection to be low since it has been standard practice for some time to issue bottled water to Challenger crews and passengers.
But the bacteria-laced water was used to brew coffee on board the Airbuses that transport large numbers of troops on overseas missions. Although the water was not sufficiently boiled to eliminate all sources of contamination, heating the liquid may have reduced the risk, according to the military.
Senior Canadian Forces medical staff determined there was no need to monitor the health of those who had been on board the aircraft.
Regular testing of water systems used to be conducted on the Canadian Forces Boeing 707 transport aircraft, but that program appears to have been stopped when the air force switched over to the more modern Airbuses in the mid-1990s.
It is common in the commercial airline industry to flush aircraft water tanks every six months, super chlorinate the tank and then flush it twice more.
Water systems are now being tested on a regular basis on the Challengers and the Airbuses to monitor for bacteria.
Capt. Steele said there have been no further problems with the Challengers. He noted that the use of bottled water is especially important on overseas flights and missions. "On the positive side it's actually safer in a lot of ways because the aircraft go all over the place," he said. "The bottled water actually provides a safe source of drinking water."
The federal government announced at the end of March it would purchase two new planes at a cost of $101 million to replace the Challenger aircraft now being used to fly the prime minister, governor general and cabinet members.
But opposition MPs have criticized the purchase of the new aircraft, to be bought from Bombardier of Montreal, as a waste of money.
The military also recommended against buying new aircraft, noting that the Challengers have an excellent reliability record.
Government officials said the Challengers were not being replaced because of concerns over their service record or safety. The main reason is that the new aircraft, a more advanced version of the Challenger, will provide greater capabilities. They will have a range of more than 2,000 kilometres over the older Challengers and will be able to fly from Canada to Europe, non-stop. The new aircraft will also be able to land and take off from shorter runways, allowing them to fly into more Canadian communities.
