Assessment of the skin dose for aircrew

Epidemiological studies are a useful instrument for investigating the influence of environmental factors on human health. In this context, the determination and quantification of the corresponding exposure is a demanding challenge. With regard to the investigation of the potential health effects in aircrew due to cosmic radiation, their occupational exposure at aviation altitudes is usually assessed in terms of the radiation protection quantity effective dose, which is stored in and available from official dose registers in many countries. However, when biological effects on a particular organ are investigated, knowledge of the corresponding exposure of that particular organ is necessary. In this study, we investigate the differences between the skin dose and the effective dose for the exposure of aircrew to cosmic radiation using a mathematical model for the radiation field at aviation altitudes. Furthermore, we present a method to deduce skin dose values from the officially registered effective doses.