US Study: Pilots and Flight Attendants Most Susceptible to Radiation-Related Cancers - Sarmad
(QNA) – An American scientific study revealed that pilots and flight attendants lead the professions most associated with deaths from cancers linked to radiation exposure, surpassing workers in fields that directly handle radioactive sources, including nuclear medicine technicians.
The study covered more than 500 occupations in the United States and showed that flight crew members receive the highest annual radiation doses compared to workers in other professional sectors, primarily due to their frequent and continuous exposure to cosmic radiation while flying at high altitudes.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School called for specialized occupational protection measures for pilots and flight attendants, commensurate with the high levels of radiation exposure they face during their work.
Although previous studies indicated higher rates of certain types of cancer among air crew compared to the general population, studies linking this to actual mortality rates have been rare. This study sought to fill this gap by analyzing death certificates in the United States between 2020 and 2024, after linking them to the occupations of the deceased.
The analysis included data on approximately 13 million deceased individuals from 503 different occupations, including 14,000 pilots and 7,000 flight attendants. Researchers accounted for other factors that could affect mortality, such as age, gender, race, education level, and marital status.
The research team focused on a group of cancers associated with radiation exposure, including breast cancer, central nervous system cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, and skin cancer (melanoma).
The results showed that mortality rates for breast cancer, central nervous system cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma were significantly higher among pilots and flight attendants compared to workers in other professions. Pilots also recorded higher mortality rates for leukemia.
According to the study, radiation-related cancers accounted for about 7% of total deaths among pilots and flight attendants, the highest percentage recorded among all occupations covered by the research, surpassing nuclear medicine technicians who routinely handle radiation sources in their work environment.
The average annual radiation dose received by air crew members in the United States is estimated at 3 to 6 millisieverts (mSv), a rate far exceeding the annual dose received by an average traveler taking 10 intercontinental flights per year, which does not exceed 0.4 millisieverts.
The scientific conclusions of the study found that flight attendants and pilots ranked first and second, respectively, among 503 different occupations in terms of the proportion of deaths from radiation-related cancers. Importantly, this increase was not observed in other types of cancer unrelated to radiation, nor was it seen among ground-based aviation workers, thereby reinforcing the credibility of the findings.
