New Report Urges Closer Scrutiny of Crew Radiation Risk

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is calling on the FAA to classify atmospheric radiation as an occupational hazard and to install more cohesive testing, monitoring, and education for flight crews.

From natural radiation exposure during flight, crewmembers receive among the highest occupational exposures to radiation among workers in the U.S., but they lack regulatory protections in comparison to other radiation-exposed workers, the congressionally commissioned report stated. Although the radiation dose received during any individual flight is generally low, evidence indicates that the cumulative dose accrued over the course of a career may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes.

The FAA has recognized radiation exposure as an occupational “consideration” for more than 35 years, but the report pointed out that current means to measure radiation exposure, as well as communicate risks with the industry, are “inconsistent and insufficient.”

“Radiation exposure is an unavoidable part of a flight crewmember’s job, and we need to do more to ensure that flight crew health and safety are sufficiently prioritized,” said Jonathan Samet, chair of the committee that wrote the report. Samet is a professor of epidemiology and occupational health and was formerly the dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. “We hope our report will be a guide to revising approaches to the problem, strengthen oversight, and empower crewmembers with the information they need to make decisions about their health.”

According to the report, the FAA “should begin exerting its regulatory authority over ionizing radiation exposure of flight crewmembers,” build upon its investment in the CARI dose model developed by the agency’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, and create a user-friendly, web-based application for the model to help crewmembers track their own exposure levels.

In the short term, the report authors urge the FAA to require U.S. airlines to implement comprehensive radiation safety programs, as well as work with appropriate agencies to establish a dose-tracking system for flight crews to monitor radiation exposure.

To address longer-horizon challenges, the FAA and collaborating organizations should systematically evaluate and compare radiation exposure models under realistic operating conditions. A National Academies webinar on the topic will be held on June 29.