Re: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Article

["Jim Hardeman" <Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us>]

Vincent ?



Yep, those cosmic rays surely do ... but not too terribly many of them.



Just as an example, on a recent trip from Atlanta to DC, I made the following "measurements" with my trusty GammaWatch (thanks Kai!!) ... on the ground, radiation levels ~8 - 15 uR/hr. In the air up to ~20K - 25K feet ... not much of a change, maybe around 30 - 50 uR/hr. Above that, observed radiation levels ramped up to around 250 - 350 uR/hr. Now this was during the recent solar flare and "coronal mass emission" events in early November ... don't know how these measurements compare to "average" radiation levels. I never did hear our maximum altitude, so it's hard to "calibrate" my readings.



By the way, I didn't say I AGREED with the article ... I just report it, I don't make it up.



Jim Hardeman

Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us  



>>> "Vincent King" <slavak@bresnan.net> 11/17/2003 21:45:13 >>>

OMIGOSH!!!!  What next?



One day, when we've shielded all the aircraft with lead and sued the

airlines out of existance (doesn't matter, lead-shielded aircraft don't fly

anyway), someone will discover that.....COSMIC RAYS REACH ALL THE WAY TO THE

GROUND!!!



Even though the amount of cosmic radiation is reduced, we spend at least 24

hours a day on the ground, so we get MORE cosmic radiation from living on

the ground than we ever got from flying!



I would think of a solution, or at least suggest who to sue (I'm sure it's a

government coverup), but the Sr-90 in my baby teeth destroyed the "thinky"

part of my brain.



Vincent King

Grand Junction "Cosmic Ray Central" CO





----- Original Message ----- 

From: "Jim Hardeman" <Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us>

To: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 4:32 PM

Subject: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Article





> Posted in the 11/16 issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

>

> URL = http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/1103/16solar.html 

>

> Jim Hardeman, Manager

> Environmental Radiation Program

> Environmental Protection Division

> Georgia Department of Natural Resources

> 4244 International Parkway, Suite 114

> Atlanta, GA 30354

> (404) 362-2675

> Fax: (404) 362-2653

> E-mail: Jim_Hardeman@dnr.state.ga.us 

>

> ======================================================

>

> Frequent fliers face radiation risks, researchers say

>

> By KIRSTEN TAGAMI

> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

>

> With all the worries about air travel these days, something called "cosmic

radiation" probably isn't at the top of the list for most travelers.

>

> But radiation exposure in the skies is a growing concern among some

airline workers and researchers. Some experts say ultra-frequent fliers, who

may log thousands of miles each month, also should be aware of the possible

risks.

>

> "Road warriors -- people who fly so often they're on a first-name basis

with the flight crews -- these people also are occupationally exposed. They

are radiation workers," said Robert Barish, a medical physicist and author

of "The Invisible Passenger: Radiation Risks for People Who Fly."

>

> It's not widely known, but passengers and crews absorb increased radiation

from the sun and stars every time they fly. That's because Earth's

protective fields thin out at higher altitudes and latitudes. For most

passengers, under normal conditions, it's not enough to be a concern.

>

> During solar storms like the one that occurred two weeks ago, the dose can

be 10 to 20 times greater than usual, however, or the equivalent of two to

three chest X-rays every hour.

>

> The recent storms prompted a scientist at the Federal Aviation

Administration to issue an advisory suggesting that airline pilots

temporarily stay below 25,000 feet when traveling at higher latitudes, where

more radiation reaches aircraft.

>

> It's not known how many airlines followed the advice. Delta Air Lines, the

Atlanta-based carrier, did not alter the usual altitude of its flights, said

spokesman John Kennedy.

>

> The amount of radiation from a single flight -- even during a solar

storm -- isn't enough to exceed the recommended limit, even for pregnant

travelers, according to Wallace Friedberg, who leads the FAA's radiobiology

research team.

>

> It's the regular, long-term exposure of flight crews that is more

worrisome to most researchers.

>

> When retired Delta flight attendant Cathy Cone first heard about cosmic

radiation a few years ago, "I pooh-poohed it as no big deal," she said. "I

figured if it was something we needed to be concerned about, Delta would be

doing something about it."

>

> But in the past year, three friends -- all current or former flight

attendants -- have been diagnosed with cancer. Cone is no longer so quick to

dismiss the possible health effects of cosmic radiation.

>

> Although there's no way to know if work-related exposure to radiation had

anything to do with her friends' cancers, "it did make me think," she said.

"It's something we talk about now."

>

> Europe's rules differ

>

> European airlines are required to inform flight crews of the possible

health risks from flying and must keep a running estimate of radiation

exposure for each crew member. Airlines must also reorganize pregnant

workers' schedules to keep their exposure very low.

>

> There are no such requirements in the United States, something that angers

Judith Murawski, an industrial hygienist for the Association of Flight

Attendants, the biggest attendants union.

>

> The FAA plans to post a technical report about in-flight radiation on its

Web site this fall, but that's not enough, Murawski said.

>

> "The average crew member is never going to know about this," she said.

"Can you imagine saying to a nuclear power plant worker, 'Oh, we posted

information on some obscure Web site?' It's not right to have a separate

standard for flight attendants and pilots."

>

> Murawski and Barish both say flight crews and passengers should be

routinely informed about radiation, particularly during solar storms.

>

> "The idea of getting two or three X-rays an hour without your knowledge is

just shocking," Murawski said. "It's wrong that people are subjected to this

without their knowledge."

>

> Information online

>

> Delta provides information about in-flight radiation to its employees on

the company's internal Web site, under the category "Spotlight on Health and

Safety," Kennedy said. The Web site advises pregnant flight crew members to

talk to their doctors about their working conditions.

>

> Delta doesn't take a position on whether in-flight radiation poses a

danger to non-pregnant workers because U.S. medical authorities can't say

with certainty that it does, Kennedy said.

>

> Some recent studies have found that flight crews face an increased risk of

developing cancer, however. Cosmic radiation is a possible reason, according

to the researchers.

>

> The November issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports on

findings from three studies that focused on thousands of cabin crew members

from Nordic countries.

>

> In one study, researchers studied cabin crews for a particularly deadly

skin cancer, malignant melanoma. The study, which adjusted for sunbathing

and other lifestyle factors, found men who flew for a living doubled their

chances of developing the condition and women had 3.5 times the increased

risk.

>

> The study's author, Dr. Vilhjalmur Rafnsson, a professor of preventative

medicine at the University of Iceland, noted that the crews' routes were in

higher latitudes with greater exposure to ionizing radiation. Irregular

working hours and disturbances to the body's internal clock also could be

involved, according to an accompanying editorial by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of

the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

>

> In the United States, the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety

and Health is conducting several long-term studies of flight attendants and

pilots to see if they have an increased risk of cancer or reproductive

problems.

>

> Cosmic radiation is complex and can't be reproduced in a lab with test

animals, she said.

>

> Scientists know there is a link between various kinds of cancer and

radiation exposure, but they don't know if there is a risk from cosmic

radiation in doses received by flight crews, said Martha Waters, a scientist

with NIOSH.

>



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