Page 2
EPIB Trail
Volume 7, Issue 1
Radiation Risks in Flights By Tami Segal On September 3rd, JAMA Dermatology published a paper by Dr. Susana Or z‐Urda, a co‐director of the UCSF Melanoma Center at the University of California, San Francisco, ci ng a higher risk of melanoma— the most dangerous type of skin cancer and leading cause of death from skin disease— for airline pilots and cabin crew members. While the reason remains unclear, it is hypothesized to be caused by radia on exposure. The Occupa onal Safety and Health Administra on, OSHA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Preven on, CDCP, have a flight crew research program underway to see if health effects such as: menstrual func on, pregnancy outcome, infer lity, cancer, respiratory symptoms, job stress, physical demands and overall mortality have been impacted by the various environmental issues found in airplane cabins. One issue established includes the “poten al exposure to cosmic ionizing radia on”, which is the leading cons tuent for Or z‐ Urda’s finding. Ionizing radia on,— a type of energy released by atoms in the form of electromagne c waves or par cles— can be exposed by both natural (soil, water, and vegeta on) and man‐ made sources (x‐rays and medical devices). Cosmic ionizing radia on, however, originates in outer space and enters Earth’s atmosphere as these par cles and electromagne c waves. The amount of background radia on, which is the yearly dose of both cosmic and terrestrial radia on a person gets, varies in eleva on, atmospheric condi ons, and other factors. For flight crews who fly in the stratosphere this means a doubled concentra on of cosmic and ultraviolet radia on.
Back to Index
