Guidelines and Technical Information Provided by the US Federal Aviation Administration to Promote Radiation Safety for Air Carrier Crew Members

The Federal Aviation Administration has provided instructional material on radiation exposure during air travel, supported research on radiation effects, and developed computer programs (CARI) for estimating the galactic radiation in the atmosphere. Based on a recent version of CARI, estimates are presented of effective dose rates of galactic radiation and the percentage contributions by its components, for the years 1958 through 1997, at various altitudes both at the equator and at a high latitude. Also presented are the effective doses of galactic radiation received on a variety of US domestic and transoceanic flights (flight doses). Incorporating flight doses, estimates were made of the total annual doses received by aircrew members from occupational plus non-occupational natural radiation sources. Annual doses to crew members, on and off the job, ranged from almost identical to about twice the average annual effective dose of natural background radiation received by a member of the US population.