Flight attendant radiation dose from solar particle events

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Space weather
• Radiation biology

Background:

• Flight attendant work has been linked to reproductive health concerns.
• Air cabin exposures, including cosmic radiation and solar particle events, are potential risk factors.
• Assessing radiation dose from solar particle events is crucial for flight attendant reproductive health studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate radiation dose exposure for flight attendants during solar particle events.
• To determine the potential reproductive health risks associated with these exposures.

Main Methods:

• Utilized solar storm data from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center for relevant periods (1992-1996, 1999-2001).
• Estimated radiation dose from solar energetic particles using the NAIRAS model.
• Calculated galactic cosmic radiation dose using the CARI-6P computer program.

Main Results:

• Seven significant solar particle events were identified, overlapping with 24,807 flight segments.
• Average absorbed doses were 6.5 μGy (18 μSv) and 3.1 μGy (8.3 μSv) for the two periods.
• Maximum doses reached 440 μGy (1.2 mSv), with 20 segments exceeding 190 μGy (0.5 mSv).

Conclusions:

• Pregnant flight attendants may exceed the 0.5 mSv/month equivalent dose limit for the conceptus during solar particle events.
• This highlights a potential occupational hazard requiring further investigation and mitigation strategies.