No Sweat

Eastern's red rash diagnosed

When attendants on Eastern Air Lines nights between New York City and Miami or Fort Lauderdale, Fla., began complaining of a mysterious rash of red dots on their faces, necks and hands, the cause at first seemed likely to be some combination of environmental factors, such as the dry air in the planes' cabins or the cleanser used in the food ovens or even cosmetics. But why only Eastern? And why only a few episodes on the carrier's other routes? And how come no passengers or pilots were involved in the 170 reports of the so-called red sweat? Last week the culprit was discovered. It turned out to be just flecks of red ink from the words DEMO ONLY that were stenciled on new life jackets Eastern uses to show emergency procedures. When the attendants put the jackets on or took them off, bits of ink flaked off, flecking their skin and sometimes causing inflammation of the pores. That explained why so few other routes were involved: the jackets, of course, are not demonstrated on flights over land.

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