Narrative:

[We] took off normally climbed to cruise. About one hour and fifteen minutes into the flight; flight attendants reported strong and unusual fumes/odor emanating from gasper and air vents above R2 door in aft galley. Fumes described as 'electrical'. Captain performed the smoke/fumes checklist in its entirety. After further discussion with flight attendants about possible origination and severity; they strongly requested a pilot come back to evaluate. First officer (myself) went to aft location to investigate; while captain assumed pilot flying duties. After returning to flight deck and conversing with captain; we determined it would be prudent to divert to the nearest suitable airport. We declared an emergency and landed uneventfully. We were met by crash fire rescue equipment personnel; flight attendants were checked by emt's and given oxygen; and aircraft was deplaned into terminal via air stairs. There was no visible fire; but the fumes continued to be present even after shutdown on the ground and deplaning. Some crash fire rescue equipment personnel reported headaches and feeling dizzy after being in the aircraft and being exposed to the fumes. I am not aware of any passenger-reported illness.I feel that the incident was handled very well in the air. Ground support was awesome. I have been involved in a few emergency/incident situations at this airline. In my observations; it is disturbing that the flight attendants are pressured to fly by their direct supervisors and scheduling after an event - even when it creates great emotional distress for some of them - and in this case inhalation of an unknown toxic fumes. Flight attendants are threatened with 'demerits' if they state they are unable to fly after this sort of event. If enough of these 'demerits' are accumulated - they can be terminated by management. It is because of this policy that our flight attendants submitted to continuing the flight. Even though there was a fresh flight attendant crew that came down on our rescue airplane; ours were scheduled to work. Not one of them got a phone call to ask how they were doing immediately after the flight. I wish I'd have taken photos of the poor flight attendants in the ambulance; while sucking on oxygen and looking a shade of green. Common sense after an incident for crew human factors and continued safety and concern toward their ability to perform is non-existent with regard to flight attendants. The flight attendants relayed to me that their stress was greater dealing with their supervisor; than it was during the actual incident and that they felt coerced and threatened into working for fear of getting demerits - despite their physical and mental impairments. Who is going to take responsibility to change this? How can I be sure that if they continue on that they will be able to successfully perform in another emergency if called upon after the first event? When will this change? What will it take? Is anyone listening - or seeing this?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 First Officer describes the events surrounding a report of electrical fumes in the cabin by Flight Attendants and the resultant diversion.

Narrative: [We] took off normally climbed to cruise. About one hour and fifteen minutes into the flight; Flight Attendants reported strong and unusual fumes/odor emanating from gasper and air vents above R2 door in aft galley. Fumes described as 'electrical'. Captain performed the Smoke/Fumes Checklist in its entirety. After further discussion with Flight Attendants about possible origination and severity; they strongly requested a pilot come back to evaluate. First Officer (myself) went to aft location to investigate; while Captain assumed pilot flying duties. After returning to flight deck and conversing with Captain; we determined it would be prudent to divert to the nearest suitable airport. We declared an emergency and landed uneventfully. We were met by CFR personnel; Flight Attendants were checked by EMT's and given oxygen; and aircraft was deplaned into terminal via air stairs. There was no visible fire; but the fumes continued to be present even after shutdown on the ground and deplaning. Some CFR personnel reported headaches and feeling dizzy after being in the aircraft and being exposed to the fumes. I am not aware of any passenger-reported illness.I feel that the incident was handled very well in the air. Ground support was awesome. I have been involved in a few emergency/incident situations at this airline. In my observations; it is disturbing that the Flight Attendants are pressured to fly by their direct Supervisors and Scheduling after an event - even when it creates great emotional distress for some of them - and in this case inhalation of an unknown toxic fumes. Flight Attendants are threatened with 'demerits' if they state they are unable to fly after this sort of event. If enough of these 'demerits' are accumulated - they can be terminated by Management. It is because of this policy that our Flight Attendants submitted to continuing the flight. Even though there was a fresh Flight Attendant crew that came down on our rescue airplane; ours were scheduled to work. Not one of them got a phone call to ask how they were doing immediately after the flight. I wish I'd have taken photos of the poor Flight Attendants in the ambulance; while sucking on oxygen and looking a shade of green. Common sense after an incident for crew human factors and continued safety and concern toward their ability to perform is non-existent with regard to Flight Attendants. The Flight Attendants relayed to me that their stress was greater dealing with their Supervisor; than it was during the actual incident and that they felt coerced and threatened into working for fear of getting demerits - despite their physical and mental impairments. Who is going to take responsibility to change this? How can I be sure that if they continue on that they will be able to successfully perform in another emergency if called upon after the first event? When will this change? What will it take? Is anyone listening - or seeing this?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.