Altitude-dependent dose conversion coefficients in EPCARD.

Area of Science:

• Cosmic ray physics
• Radiation protection in aviation

Background:

• Accurate calculation of radiation doses for aircrew is crucial for health and regulatory compliance.
• Previous methods used averaged constants, potentially oversimplifying dose variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement altitude- and solar activity-dependent conversion coefficients in the European Program Package for the Calculation of Aviation Route Doses (EPCARD).
• To validate these new coefficients by comparing calculated effective doses and ambient dose equivalents with previous methods for long-distance flights.

Main Methods:

• Development of new conversion coefficients considering altitude, cutoff rigidity, and solar activity.
• Utilizing a set of specially chosen long-distance flights for comparative analysis.
• Comparing particle effective doses and ambient dose equivalents derived from new and old coefficients within EPCARD.

Main Results:

• The newly developed conversion coefficients were successfully integrated into EPCARD.
• Comparison data showed very good agreement between the new and previous calculation methods.
• Dose differences for selected flights remained below 11% at typical civil flight levels.

Conclusions:

• The refined conversion coefficients provide accurate estimations of aviation radiation doses.
• The updated EPCARD system maintains high accuracy for calculating aircrew exposure on long-haul routes.
• The findings support the use of variable coefficients for more precise radiation dose assessment in aviation.