Narrative:

At top of descent; approximately 120 miles from our destination; the 'a' flight attendant called the cockpit and reported that there was a pungent chemical smell in the forward galley; lavatory area. She reported that her eyes were burning and the smell was getting worse. I got a faint smell of the fumes; but the first officer did not smell anything out of the ordinary. As captain; I directed the first officer to don our oxygen masks and we expedited our arrival into our destination. During the descent; the 'a' flight attendant reported that the smell was progressing to the forward passenger cabin. At that point; I contacted our dispatcher via ACARS to alert them of the noxious fumes. After landing; we contacted operations via radio and coordinated maintenance. After all passengers were deplaned; I wrote up the fumes event in the logbook; and filled out the aircraft cabin air quality report; coordinated maintenance. The crew then went to the medical center for medical evaluation. The company is aware of quite a few aircraft with fume events. As to my knowledge; the company is trying to find out the cause of these fumes. The company is working on a solution to the fumes events; [they are] trying to figure out where the fumes are originating and what is the cause of the fumes so a permanent fix can be achieved.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 developed a pungent chemical smell in the cabin at the top of descent; so the crew donned oxygen masks to escape the fumes and sought medical attention after landing.

Narrative: At top of descent; approximately 120 miles from our destination; the 'A' Flight Attendant called the cockpit and reported that there was a pungent chemical smell in the forward galley; lavatory area. She reported that her eyes were burning and the smell was getting worse. I got a faint smell of the fumes; but the First Officer did not smell anything out of the ordinary. As Captain; I directed the First Officer to don our oxygen masks and we expedited our arrival into our destination. During the descent; the 'A' Flight Attendant reported that the smell was progressing to the forward passenger cabin. At that point; I contacted our Dispatcher via ACARS to alert them of the noxious fumes. After landing; we contacted Operations via radio and coordinated maintenance. After all passengers were deplaned; I wrote up the fumes event in the logbook; and filled out the Aircraft Cabin Air Quality Report; coordinated maintenance. The crew then went to the Medical Center for medical evaluation. The Company is aware of quite a few aircraft with fume events. As to my knowledge; the Company is trying to find out the cause of these fumes. The company is working on a solution to the fumes events; [they are] trying to figure out where the fumes are originating and what is the cause of the fumes so a permanent fix can be achieved.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.