“Aircrew members receive the largest mean annual effective dose of ionizing radiation of any occupational group in the US,” a new study finds
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NEED TO KNOW
- A new study published in JAMA found pilots and flight attendants’ cancer death rate may be correlated to cosmic radiation exposure at high altitudes
- Researchers analyzed data from 21,000 aircrew members and compared them to ground-based aviation workers and other occupations
- Aircrew receive significantly more radiation annually than frequent fliers, but federal monitoring requirements are not yet in place
Pilots and flight attendants are among the professionals dying from radiation-related cancers at higher rates than other careers, according to a new study.
“Aircrew members receive the largest mean annual effective dose of ionizing radiation of any occupational group in the US, primarily due to cosmic rays encountered at commercial flight altitudes,” JAMA, the peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association said on Monday, Aug. 17.
Ionizing radiation is a powerful form of energy that can alter the body’s cells and DNA if absorbed at high levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
While there has been a correlation between occupational radiation exposure and cancer, it remains unclear if that exposure can lead to increased cancer-related mortality rates.
Senior author Anupam Jena works as a Joseph P. Newhouse Professor of Health Care Policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School.
The goal of the study, which was conducted between 2020 and 2024, was to determine whether or not pilots and flight attendants have a greater risk of “radiation-related cancer mortality compared with other occupations.”
Records from approximately 14,000 pilots and 7,000 flight attendants were used in the study as researchers used a common adjustment approach, according to Harvard Medical School.
Additionally, flight crew members were compared to ground-based aviation workers, and cancers screened during the study included breast cancer, central nervous system cancers, multiple myeloma, leukemia (except chronic lymphocytic leukemia), lymphoma, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancers.
One exception was lung cancer, so as to not mix results of occupational radiation with smokers.
Other factors, such as age, race, education and marital status were also taken into account during the study to see how mortality could play a role. More than 500 occupations were studied with pilots and flight attendants seeing the greatest impact.
Flying at altitudes 30,000 feet and above may allow aircraft to function more efficiently, but the thin atmosphere offers little protection from cosmic radiation.
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“Aircrew accrue an estimated 3 to 6 millisieverts per year of cosmic radiation (depending on flight paths), an order of magnitude above the estimated 0.4 millisieverts received annually by an average air traveler taking 10 cross-country round-trip flights per year,” Harvard Medical School said, citing the CDC.
Federal dose limits or monitoring requirements have not currently been determined.
The impacts of ionizing radiation are limited to in-flight crew members; passengers who travel occasionally, or even those who are frequent fliers are not exposed to the same level of radiation.
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