Each transatlantic trip (each way) is the equivalent of at least 1 chest X ray?
I'll raise you a
and a
because no it's not "equivalent", that's an oft repeated urban myth.
On a transatlantic flight you may be exposed to about the same amount of radiation as you are exposed to in a Chest X-Ray...
however the dose
rates are massively different, obviously(?), since the flight takes about 6 hours whilst the chest X-ray less than a second... and it's high dose
rates that do the real damage.
there are a number of evidence based reports indicating the heightened risk of radiation exposure at altitude.
Agreed, as long as we're aware it's "heightened" by a fraction of a percent. As far as Flight/Cabin Crew are concerned there are a number of reports suggesting there's almost certainly a link between flying and cancer, but the increase in incidence vs. the general population is almost immeasurable. The figures in the paper 172 driver linked to are fairly representative of those I've seen in other research
Epidemiological studies have shown that, for the general public, the % risk of dying of Cancer is about 23%. The most recent radiation risk models indicate that a crew member flying long haul routes for 20 years would increase this risk from 23% to 23.3%.
Carey
Obviously what you declare is up to you, but if you "found out" by your employer it could have unfortunate consequences.