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Study Links Cosmic Radiation Exposure to Increased Cancer Risk for Flight Crews
Confirmed
In Short: A new study confirms a link between cosmic radiation exposure at flight altitudes and an elevated risk of cancer among flight crew members, prompting calls for better radiation protections.
A new study has confirmed a clear association between exposure to cosmic radiation at flight altitudes and an elevated incidence of cancer among flight crew members, according to a report from Aviation Week. The findings suggest that large, cumulative cosmic radiation exposure may be linked to a variety of radiation-related cancers, including breast, central nervous system, multiple myeloma, leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid, prostate, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancers.
The study, which analyzed mortality from radiation-related and non-radiation-related cancers among pilots and flight attendants, supports the need for radiation protections for crew members. In July, France’s Social Division of the Bayonne Judicial Court recognized that a flight attendant’s breast cancer had an occupational origin, including exposure to ionizing radiation.
Flight crew members receive the largest mean annual effective dose of ionizing radiation of any occupational group in the U.S., according to the authors of the study. Cosmic rays encountered at commercial flight altitudes are the primary source of this radiation, but previous studies have been inconclusive.
The authors of the study recommend considering radiation protections for crew members, noting that the findings specifically support an association between large, cumulative inflight cosmic radiation exposure and a heterogeneous group of radiation-related cancers.
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