Anyone glowing in the dark yet?

[Newjetjockey]

Air crews look at radiation risk from flying

By Jon Herskovitz
DALLAS (Reuters) - Airline crews already have their hands full with concerns about stepped up security, congested airports and tipsy travelers.
One more item to add to that list may be radiation exposure.
The union for pilots at American Airlines is trying to increase awareness among air crews that they are being exposed to enough cosmic radiation to fall into a U.S. government regulated category of radiation workers.
The longer a person travels on a jet, the higher the jet travels and the closer the jet flies to the north or south poles, increase exposure to cosmic radiation, which comes from deep space and the sun. The Earth's atmosphere largely shields us from cosmic radiation, but planes fly where the atmosphere is thin.
"It is clear that there are health risks associated with a career of flying," Federal Aviation Administration researchers wrote in a 2002 report on radiation exposure of air crews.
Some of the routes that had the highest radiation exposure included flights between Tokyo and New York, London and Los Angeles, as well as between Athens and New York, it said.
The exposure levels for air crews fall well within federal guidelines for safe exposure for a healthy adult but the Allied Pilots Association said the radiation exposure could present risks for the foetus of a pregnant woman. A foetus has developing cells that are more likely to be damaged by exposure to radiation than an adult.
"For your average passenger, who flies occasionally, it is not an issue. For air crew members who fly more than 75 hours or more a month, that certainly adds up," said Capt. Joyce May, an American Airlines pilot who is the deputy chairwoman of the APA's Aeromedical Committee.
HIGHER ALTITUDES, INCREASED RISK
The problem has become more acute recently as jets are flying at higher altitudes. The high-altitude flights help to cut down on jet fuel use, but they also increase exposure to cosmic radiation.
May said that total radiation exposure doubles with every 6,500 feet of climate altitude.
"For a jet cruising at 39,000 feet, the total radiation is about 64 times higher than at sea level. If you drop down to 33,000 feet, it is only about 35 times greater than sea level," she said.
May and the union are calling for more thorough training for air crews so that they better understand their exposure risks to radiation. They are asking for better tracking of the radiation exposure of crew members and studies to see if the exposure presents any long-term health risks.
A typical air crew member may experience about 200 millirems to 400 millirems more exposure to ionizing radiation than the general population per year. The pilots and flight attendants working routes over the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean will likely top 500 millirems of radiation exposure.
Galactic cosmic radiation is high energy and penetrates all parts of an aircraft equally, scientists said. It is also ionizing radiation, meaning it can penetrate the human body and disrupt the healthy function of cells.
RADIATION WORKERS
The United States does not have any regulations for air crews pertaining to radiation exposure, but several European countries classify air crews as radiation workers and monitor their exposure levels.
There are no definitive studies linking cosmic radiation exposure for air crews with health risks, May said, but she did note one medical study showed that pilots had three to four times the rate of malignant melanoma -- a type of skin cancer -- than the general population.
In order to give some perspective, workers at the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb, have an annual safety limit of 2,000 millirems of exposure, while the pre-eminent nuclear research lab tries to limit radiation exposure for a pregnant woman to 500 millirems for the term of her pregnancy.
Other federal agencies have a safe, annual exposure level of 5,000 millirems.
Tom Buhl, a top health physicist at Los Alamos said that while air crews may meet the U.S. minimum standard of radiation workers, he does not think they should be classified as such because they do not face the risk of a large, unexpected dose of radiation.
"On an airplane, the radiation field is pretty well known. You have a pretty good understanding of what that radiation is," Buhl said

 

[mar]

No, but I've got a great tan!

...but she did note one medical study showed that pilots had three to four times the rate of malignant melanoma -- a type of skin cancer -- than the general population.

It's probably all that time out by the pool on the RONs.

 

[146guy]

I wrote a report on this subject in college........ there is no real threat with the current duty time regs in place. Even if you flew 30 hours every seven days on the polar routes rediation levels would still be at "safe" levels.

 

[T-Bags]

I wrote a report on this subject in college........ there is no real threat with the current duty time regs in place. Even if you flew 30 hours every seven days on the polar routes rediation levels would still be at "safe" levels.

Yeah, and they used to think a few cigarettes were healthy.... What's the explaination for the higher cancer rates among pilots? Besides, even if it is a myth, we should still perpetuate it in order to have one more argument for higher pilot pay

 

[xanderman]

oh yeah!

Man we'll do anything for another day off!
Andy

 

[cezzna]

I researched this also and was alarmed about it. The best article written is on avweb written by their aero-med guru, very interesting article. It quotes several studies, including one that shows pilots actually have a lower incidence of cancer as compared to the general population. However pilots have significantly higher rates of four specific cancers( cannot remember which ones). I think if you boil it all down, as a pilot you probably have a 1-2% greater chance of getting cancer than if you did not fly. Putting it into perspective, you probably have a 30% chance of getting it period, so another 2% is no big deal.

You probably add more than 2% eating at Mcdonalds once a week.

 

[BRA]

whatever you can get from sleeping with the flight attendants is probably worse too. Especially the Flight Attendent GuyS.

 

[vetteracer]

This is interesting. I sat next to a physicist on a flight from LAX to MSP once and he pulled out a Geiger counter and showed me the radiation levels. He said that it was far from a lethal dose, but long term exposure would be a problem.

From Physics in college.

The Earth’s electro magnetic field, which is polar and runs from the North Pole to the South Pole (the same electromagnetic field that aligns are compasses to north). This field directs cosmic radiation to the poles. Basically a shield. And every 10,000 years the poles have switched polarity. We are about 1,000 years over due for a polarity switch. And in the last 300 years the magnetic field has decreased by 200 times. Polar north is changing as well. They studied British Naval sexton records and noted the movement. They contribute this weakening of the magnetic field to current shifts in the earth’s molten magma core. As it is our earth’s molten core in movement, in a flow, that creates the magnetic field. Much like a rotor and a stator.

I also watched a PBS documentary about the study of ancient clay pots. They used the pots as a "magnetic field time line". As these pots were fired then cooled the iron particles aligned themselves to polar north or polar south. They time lined the polarity switch by noting these positions in the pots, then dating the pots.

Anyway just some food for thought.

Mark

 

[TR4A]

There are no definitive studies linking cosmic radiation exposure for air crews with health risks, May said, but she did note one medical study showed that pilots had three to four times the rate of malignant melanoma -- a type of skin cancer -- than the general population.

It's probably all that time out by the pool on the RONs.

I had melanoma on my back when I was 31 (almost 16 years ago) and I don't fly naked. Growing up in the 60's and 70's getting sunburned, great-grandmother died of it. Most damage is done before you are 20.

 

[Always deferred]

One way to help remedy the free-radicals that are released in the body which cause cancerous cells to manifest, is to increase the intake of anti-oxidants, namely Vitamins C, E supplements (high quality capsules), and to increase intake of green vegetables, especially broccoli. Yum!