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Do We Get More Cosmic Radiation When Flying?
Medicine & HealthStandardAbout 3 min
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When you fly high in the sky, did you know that there is more cosmic radiation than on the ground? Cosmic radiation comes from high-energy particles in space. The higher you fly, the thinner the atmosphere, and the less protection it provides. This makes scientists curious: do pilots and flight attendants, who work at high altitudes for long periods, have a higher risk of cancer?
To find out, researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed a large study covering more than 500 occupations, comparing cancer death rates among pilots and flight attendants. They found that these groups had the highest radiation-related cancer death rates among all occupations. Specifically, about 6.9% of flight attendant deaths were from radiation-related cancers, and about 6.7% for pilots.
The science behind this is that Earth's atmosphere acts like a thick protective coat, blocking most cosmic radiation. When a plane flies high, the atmosphere is thinner, so protection is weaker, and people on board are exposed to more radiation. The longer the flight, the more radiation accumulates. However, scientists emphasize that this is only an observed correlation, not proof that radiation causes cancer.
Recently, a French court ruled for the first time that cosmic radiation was a occupational factor in a 59-year-old flight attendant's breast cancer, along with passive smoking and years of night shifts. This ruling may open the door for similar lawsuits and highlights the occupational health risks of long-term high-altitude flying.
However, the study has limitations. It is observational, so it cannot establish causation. Also, the determination of radiation-related cancers may be influenced by other factors. Moreover, this is a single court ruling and may not be generalizable. Scientists estimate that more research is needed to confirm the link between cosmic radiation and cancer.
Cosmic radiation: high-energy particles from the sun and galaxy. When they hit Earth's atmosphere, they create secondary particles. At high altitudes, the atmosphere is thinner, so radiation intensity is higher.
6.9% refers to the proportion of flight attendant deaths due to radiation-related cancers, not that all flight attendants will get cancer from radiation.
Did you know? On a flight, each hour of flying gives you about the same radiation dose as a chest X-ray.
This article was researched and written from the following materials:
Primary research: 哈佛醫學院
News report: Solidot28 August 2026Read the original
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