Flight Attendants Top the Radiation Cancer Death List
The Story
Flight attendants and pilots lead every other occupation in deaths from cancers linked to radiation exposure, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers led by Dr. Vishal Patel of Harvard Medical School examined more than 12 million death certificates that recorded occupation, covering over 500 jobs.
Flight attendants had roughly 50 percent higher odds of dying from one of these cancers than the general working population, and pilots had about 36 percent higher odds.
In absolute terms about 6.9 percent of flight attendant deaths and 6.7 percent of pilot deaths came from these cancers, against 5 percent for workers overall.
Neither group showed raised death rates from cancers unrelated to radiation, which commentary authors Catherine Olsen and Ken Karipidis said points to exposure at altitude rather than lifestyle or income.
The researchers could not measure how much radiation any individual received, and could not separate the effect of jet lag and irregular schedules, which disrupt the body's internal clock and carry their own cancer risk.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledges that crews are exposed to ionizing radiation but sets no dose limits and requires no monitoring, prompting Patel to note that you cannot manage an exposure you have decided not to measure.
Researchers led by Dr. Vishal Patel of Harvard Medical School examined more than 12 million death certificates that recorded occupation, covering over 500 jobs.
Flight attendants had roughly 50 percent higher odds of dying from one of these cancers than the general working population, and pilots had about 36 percent higher odds.
In absolute terms about 6.9 percent of flight attendant deaths and 6.7 percent of pilot deaths came from these cancers, against 5 percent for workers overall.
Neither group showed raised death rates from cancers unrelated to radiation, which commentary authors Catherine Olsen and Ken Karipidis said points to exposure at altitude rather than lifestyle or income.
The researchers could not measure how much radiation any individual received, and could not separate the effect of jet lag and irregular schedules, which disrupt the body's internal clock and carry their own cancer risk.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledges that crews are exposed to ionizing radiation but sets no dose limits and requires no monitoring, prompting Patel to note that you cannot manage an exposure you have decided not to measure.
Why It Matters
What separates this study from earlier warnings is the company flight crews kept at the top of the table, ahead of nuclear technologists who actually handle radioactive materials, per Medical Daily. Federal regulation has not followed the science: the FAA acknowledges the exposure but sets no dose limits and requires no monitoring, a gap the lead author cuts to one line, you cannot manage an exposure you have decided not to measure. The flight attendants union has pressed the point for years with little response, its president saying the risk is known while nobody takes responsibility. Watch the union push for crew dosimetry now that a twelve million record mortality table backs it.
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