Radiation Dose Estimation for Epidemiologic Studies of Flight Attendants

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bloom, Thomas F. ; Grajewski, Barbara A. ; Waters MA ; Whelan, Elizabeth A.
• Description:
  NIOSH is conducting health studies of female flight attendants. Exposures of interest include cosmic radiation and circadian rhythm disruption, however, the data needed to estimate cumulative radiation dose are not found in work histories. We developed an algorithm to generate from work histories the required input data for Federal Aviation Administration radiation estimation software and evaluated whether effects of cumulative radiation dose could be distinguished analytically from effects of circadian rhythm disruption. The algorithm has relatively low bias (<6%) for longer flights, which contribute most to cumulative radiation dose. In one NIOSH study, 44 crew incurred an estimated average annual occupational dose of 1.5-1.7 mSv. Selection of a study population flying predominantly North-South flights can provide the necessary distinction between radiation and time zone crossing exposures. Methods developed will be useful for exposure assessment in cabin crew studies with relatively short study periods, (e.g., reproductive health studies) for which limited flight history details are generally available. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Circadian Rhythm Epidemiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Radiation Risk Assessment Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Air-transportation Aircrews Altitude Author Keywords: Cosmic Radiation Circadian-rhythms Epidemiologic Research Design Exposure-levels Fight Attendant Flight-personnel Ionizing-radiation Mathematical-models Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Occupational Exposure Radiation-exposure Radiation-measurement Radiation-monitoring Risk-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  27-37
• Volume:
  41
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022387
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2002 Jan; 41(1):27-37
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Barbara Grajewski, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, R13, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  BAG2@CDC.GOV
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3a9f01b98a5356773a178f333116bac0d0784fc38ae3cd16319882e430fca3a1a458af8eeeeb4f198dc2ec18d2802aa311a1c0492d8114048f713ff336ae8911
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199183/cdc_199183_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 165.91 KB ]