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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Fried in Flight
ChrisCrossings · June 24, 1999

Q: Ten years ago I took a nonstop flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. Shortly thereafter I developed lymphoma cancer and almost died. I have always felt there was a direct connection between the prolonged exposure to high altitudes and cancer. Are there any studies on the subject? What are the health risks of flying?

- Jeff Veteto

A: I can't find any studies that track passenger health after a flight, specifically as it relates to the amount of radiation they've absorbed. However, I recently got an e-mail from a reader who took a radiation counter with him on a plane. He reported that at 36,000 feet it "went crazy" with activity.

Passengers on a commercial aircraft receive up to four times the radiation levels experienced by the typical nuclear plant worker, according to research released at a Trinity College conference in Dublin. The sun is the primary culprit, delivering measurable doses of ionizing radiation at high altitudes.

Is it enough to kill? Maybe. In a Federal Register entry last year, the Aircraft Certification Service in Renton, Wash., admitted that "it is not possible to precisely define the radiation to which the airplane will be exposed in service. There is also uncertainty concerning the effectiveness of airframe shielding for radiation."

That doesn't necessarily mean flying is entirely unsafe. If airline travel were so hazardous, we'd see a lot more crewmembers succumbing to radiation-related ailments. Flight attendants and pilots are constantly exposed to these doses of radiation, with no apparent ill effects. That's not keeping the International Airline Pilots' Associations from being concerned about the issue, especially in the wake of the Dublin findings. It is studying the findings and may conduct more research.

If the amount of radiation at those heights were so dangerous, few mountain climbers would be able to survive the Himalayas -- not because of the challenging peaks, but because they were being bombarded with lethal doses of radiation.

I don't think you should be worried. The odds of you developing cancer from a single flight are remote. You're far more likely to get whacked over the head by a raging passenger or to choke on one of those delicious rubber chicken meals they serve in economy class. If you are troubled by high-altitude radiation, stay away from the Concorde. It flies higher and there's more radiation as you work your way up.

Keep away from long flights, or better yet, don't fly at all. I'm not trying to be insensitive, Jeff, but that's really the only way of preventing any exposure to the radiation.

Christopher Elliott can be reached at christopher@elliott.org. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.