If you click on this link you can see my "Expert's answers" in the category of aviation radiation exposure posted at the website of The Health Physics Society. There are more than two dozen basic questions and answers about in-flight radiation and its health effects.
Mission
To educate flight crew members and business frequent flyers about the risks of cosmic radiation exposure during air travel.
Profile
For more than eighteen years Dr. Robert J. Barish has been involved in the dissemination of information regarding the health risks of in-flight radiation exposure. At the high altitudes which are the domain of commercial airliners, cosmic radiation exposure rates are hundreds of times greater than at ground level. If this radiation originated at a regulated medical or industrial facility, many frequent flyers would receive annual exposures in excess of the legal limit applicable to members of the general public. For pregnant travelers, the fetus is also at risk.
Information
Dr. Barish has produced educational material on this subject, both peer-reviewed scientific papers and articles in aviation industry publications. He has lectured on this subject to such groups as the International Society of Women Airline Pilots and the Icelandic Pilots Association.
Products/Services
Dr. Barish is an advocate for both flight crew members and business frequent flyers who may receive significant radiation exposures, in many cases with no information from their employers. In the United States where Federal Agencies such as the EPA, OSHA, NRC, and DOE require workers who are exposed to be educated about their risks in order to make informed decisions about the acceptability of these risks, the FAA has chosen not to regulate in this area. Unfortunately, virtually all frequent flyers are unaware of this important subject. Dr. Barish is the author of The Invisible Passenger: Radiation Risks For People Who Fly, a text which forms the cornerstone of our educational programs.
News
In Europe, effective May 2000, all flight crewmembers are required to receive education about in-flight radiation and its health effects. In addition, the doses of radiation they receive must be individually assessed. Now that many US carriers have formed global alliances with European airlines, it seems unreasonable for there to be a double standard with respect to the treatment of exposed workers from each continent, i.e. the Europeans will be appropriately informed and the Americans will still be told nothing about this subject?
If you are a business frequent flyer, in the air 80,000 miles a year, it is likely that your radiation exposure exceeds the level deemed acceptable for members of the general public exposed by proximity to conventional medical or industrial radiation facilities. Your exposure is, however, well within the limits set for radiation workers. These greater limits are allowed based upon the important requirement that occupationally exposed employees must be educated about their risks in order to decide for themselves if these risks are acceptable. You should ask your corporate Human Resource department to contact us regarding radiation training for business frequent flyers. You and your colleagues (particularly those who are pregnant) should know the facts about in-flight radiation and its health effects.
A new edition of Dr. Barish's book The Invisible Passenger: Radiation Risks For People Who Fly is about to be published. To reserve a copy, send an email to robbarish@verizon.net and we'll let you know when it's ready and how you can get a copy.
