Answer to Question #1161 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

I am a corporate pilot. Our company flies a lot of trips in the polar routes at altitudes above 41,000 feet. One of our aircraft is capable of staying 12 to 13 hours aloft. What are the radiation concerns?

A

Corporate aircraft fly at higher altitudes than most commercial airlines. In addition, the work hours of corporate pilots, less restricted than commercial pilots, put them at the high end when looking at the radiation exposures of flight crew members. Your particular circumstances—high-altitude, high-latitude flying—will certainly lead to annual exposures in the range of 5-8 mSv. So all of my remarks throughout this "aviation" section of experts' answers are particularly applicable to corporate pilots like you.

It is my belief that all of you should be educated by your employers about the risks of your radiation exposure in order for you to make informed decisions as to the acceptability of these risks. Although your in-flight radiation exposures are at the high end when examining the typical doses received by all radiation workers, they still pose only a small risk. But I believe that accepting that risk is for you to decide based on good information.

At present, one of the largest corporate aircraft companies in the United States, Executive Jet, Inc., is providing all of its crew members with in-flight radiation training using my book The Invisible Passenger: Radiation Risks for People Who Fly as a core text. In addition, they have devoted one of the computers at their weather operations center to monitoring the SEC-NOAA space weather alert page, with a plan to lower the altitude of all of their aircraft should a significant solar particle event occur.

I believe that you should strongly urge your employer to follow Executive Jet's lead. Let them do the right thing and provide you and your fellow crew members with the information you need to fully understand this important element in your lives.

Robert J. Barish, PhD, CHP, DABR, DABMP, FAAPM