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The effects of
exposure to cosmic radiation are of most interest at the moment (as most airlines have
prohibited smoking on flights). Evidence indicates that pilots and flight attendants are
exposed to higher levels of cosmic radiation than the general population. The underlying
rationale is that cosmic radiation increases as one gets higher in the atmosphere, is
greater over polar regions than the equator, and is greater during periods of heightened
sun flares. See: Kendall G. Factors Affecting Cosmic-Ray Doses at Aircraft Altitudes.
Health Physics 79:560-562, 2000. |
