{"id":116472,"date":"2021-09-23T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/?p=116472"},"modified":"2021-09-23T23:23:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T23:23:00","slug":"airline-crews-exposed-radiation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2021\/09\/airline-crews-exposed-radiation.html","title":{"rendered":"Airline crews exposed to increasing levels of radiation."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Airlines are exposing their personnel to increasing amounts of radiation as planes fly longer distances, with pilots receiving the highest annual doses, France\u2019s nuclear safety institute warned in a new report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The five-year study by the Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire found that while the number of crew receiving annual exposure above a specific safety limit remains relatively tiny, the proportion doubled between 2016 and 2019. The government agency recommended rotating staff more frequently away from the most-affected routes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-09-23\/airline-pilots-crews-exposed-to-increasing-levels-of-radiation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" class=\"broken_link\">Bloomberg<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>See also:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/en\/2021\/09\/airbus-assembly-eco-wing-prototype.html\">Airbus begins assembly of first \u2018eco-wing\u2019 prototype.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Airline crews are more exposed than people on the ground to radiation from cosmic rays, which are blocked by the atmosphere. As carriers connect farther-flung cities and use polar routes to save time and fuel, pilot unions and health experts have begun raising safety concerns about higher radiation exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Levels affecting pilots and cabin crew should be closely monitored, and they \u201cshould be considered exposed workers,\u201d the report concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>See also: <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/en\/2021\/09\/rolls-royce-electric-aircraft-makes-first-flight.html\"><em>Rolls-Royce electric aircraft makes first flight.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the IRSN, exposure to these cosmic rays is about 150 times more potent at 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) above ground than at sea level, and is two or three times higher at the poles than the equator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Commercial airline flight personnel are the second most vulnerable worker category to radiation exposure after people making nuclear fuel, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Steady Increase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IRSN study on airlines was part of an annual report published Wednesday on radiation in the workplace. The institute studied exposure of an average of 22,000 crew members working for unnamed carriers. Their total annual dose rose 38% between 2015 and 2019, and the average individual doses \u201cincreased steadily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before 2015, most of the 100 employees receiving the highest annual doses were cabin crew, but by 2019 there was an equal split with pilots, who tend to specialize in one type of plane and route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than three-quarters of the pilots who received an annual dose of more than 5 milliSieverts (mSv) were flying wide-body planes on long-haul routes to North America and Asia, the study found. The most highly exposed flight attendants were also on these types of routes. A measure of 5 mSv represents a quarter of the maximum of 20 per year permitted by France for workers and is a level that the IRSN considers to be significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High levels of radiation can damage cells and could lead to cancer in later life. The French study found that 96 crew members had exposure of between 5 to 10 mSv in 2019. A CT scan of someone\u2019s head equates to about 2 mSv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The French pilot union is calling for better technology in planes to detect solar flares, which lead to higher radiation, so they can limit the danger by flying at lower altitudes or changing routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Topics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-post-grid uagb-post-grid  uagb-post__image-position-top uagb-post__image-enabled uagb-block-3d722cee     uagb-post__items uagb-post__columns-2 is-grid uagb-post__columns-tablet-2 uagb-post__columns-mobile-1 uagb-post__equal-height\" data-total=\"416\" style=\"\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"uagb-post__inner-wrap\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class='uagb-post__image'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2026\/04\/abra-group-solidifies-leadership-in-2025-with-9-7-billion-in-revenue.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\" class='uagb-image-ratio-inherit'><img 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uagb-post-grid-byline'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-post__text uagb-post__cta wp-block-button\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wp-block-button__link uagb-text-link\" style=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2026\/03\/latam-airlines-to-resume-direct-flights-between-santiago-and-quito.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Read More<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Airlines are exposing their personnel to increasing amounts of radiation as planes fly longer distances, with pilots receiving&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":4316,"featured_media":99298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[230,197],"class_list":{"0":"post-116472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-airlines","8":"tag-airline","9":"tag-airlines"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-300x150.jpg",300,150,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-768x384.jpg",768,384,true],"large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"pk-small":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-80x80.jpg",80,80,true],"pk-thumbnail":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"csco-small":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-80x80.jpg",80,80,true],"csco-intermediate":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-200x140.jpg",200,140,true],"csco-thumbnail":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-380x220.jpg",380,220,true],"csco-thumbnail-alternative":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-300x180.jpg",300,180,true],"csco-thumbnail-uncropped":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-380x190.jpg",380,190,true],"csco-medium":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-medium-alternative":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion-560x336.jpg",560,336,true],"csco-medium-uncropped":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-large-uncropped":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false],"csco-extra-large":["https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avion.jpg",800,400,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Redacci\u00f3n - Aviaci\u00f3n al D\u00eda","author_link":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/author\/aad"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Airlines are exposing their personnel to increasing amounts of radiation as planes fly longer distances, with pilots receiving&hellip;","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116472"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116474,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116472\/revisions\/116474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}