Are pilots exposed to a lot of UV rays? What can you do?
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N. California
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Answer to the original question. Yes. Having just completed bilateral cataract surgery and an earlier surgery for skin cancer. Obviously these problems occur with years of flying.
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N. California
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Maybe. Then again, I've been doing this gig for 45 years with 2 to go. In an earlier life we had radiation detectors in our pressure suits while we roamed around above 80k. Never told us what the readings were. Sitting "Vector" alert in jolly 'ol England with 2 or 3 nukes strapped to one ass probably didn't help as did straddling 10 radar jammers during the Gulf war. Having taken over from Desert 185, pushing tin across the North Pac, one wonders.
Join Date: May 2013
Location: have I forgotten or am I lost?
Age: 71
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
think of the poor old farmer on the nuffield or fergie tractor for years on end.
they suffer the same as you, sometimes worse.
yes there is a risk but nothing greater in the long term than a humble farmer would suffer.
radiation tabs on the suit werent a medal for service. if they didnt tell you the result of the checking you can almost bet the result was found to be trivial.
cataracts? so what, a pair of new plastic lenses under a general anaesthetic and a weeks recovery and your sight will be as right as rain.
they suffer the same as you, sometimes worse.
yes there is a risk but nothing greater in the long term than a humble farmer would suffer.
radiation tabs on the suit werent a medal for service. if they didnt tell you the result of the checking you can almost bet the result was found to be trivial.
cataracts? so what, a pair of new plastic lenses under a general anaesthetic and a weeks recovery and your sight will be as right as rain.
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Oz
Posts: 242
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
FWIW, I used to work with UV measuring instruments. Standard acrylics are will block UV to about 300nm (UVB) and after that require coatings to block out UVA. So small aircraft screens will not offer much protection. I can only imagine that larger aircraft use different plastics/glasses for screens and would be different and maybe coated?
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: expat
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This was covered in a dunnunda thread.
I was a sceptic until I discovered this document:
Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
You can google for the complete PDF. Basically enough UV A gets through that airline pilots should at least wear good wrap around sunglasses.
I was a sceptic until I discovered this document:
Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
You can google for the complete PDF. Basically enough UV A gets through that airline pilots should at least wear good wrap around sunglasses.
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Eagan, MN
Posts: 339
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
UVA is the real source of danger for the skin, a certain exposure to UVB is the best source for Vitamin D; BUT, it must be done with care, and is only beneficial under carefully controlled conditions. I used newspapers and long sleeves, being blond and fair skinned. There was nothing worse for the eyes/face than a noon-ish departure from Anchorage, and late afternoon arrival in Tokyo.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Scandinavia
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ah, so infrared must be a special kind of electromagnetic radiation which is actually hot rather than simply a carrier of energy. Like, for example, microwaves...
HowStuffWorks "Microwaves"
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Pasadena
Posts: 633
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Heating by radiation?
Microwaves cause (mostly water) molecules to rotate.
Infrared causes molecular bonds to vibrate.
Both sap energy from the radiation into the irradiated material, but without ionization.
Neither are as worrying for DNA as ionizing radiation, which kicks electrons out from these molecules, and tends to do it throughout the body, not just on the skin. High UV intensities and skin damage from sunburn do damage skin. Cosmic ray muons give high-fliers more whole-body radiation exposure. I believe that Concorde crews got enough of a dose to need formal radiation worker status and monitoring, as would any nuclear power worker.
Exposure to cosmic radiation of British Airways flying crew on ultralonghaul routes.
Infrared causes molecular bonds to vibrate.
Both sap energy from the radiation into the irradiated material, but without ionization.
Neither are as worrying for DNA as ionizing radiation, which kicks electrons out from these molecules, and tends to do it throughout the body, not just on the skin. High UV intensities and skin damage from sunburn do damage skin. Cosmic ray muons give high-fliers more whole-body radiation exposure. I believe that Concorde crews got enough of a dose to need formal radiation worker status and monitoring, as would any nuclear power worker.
Exposure to cosmic radiation of British Airways flying crew on ultralonghaul routes.
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Luton
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
After 9/11 l took a job as a lorry driver ( truck driver ).
My right elbow became very brown and l still have large areas of dark skin on
that arm.
My badge of honour, for driving on the proper side of the road.
My right elbow became very brown and l still have large areas of dark skin on
that arm.
My badge of honour, for driving on the proper side of the road.
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 171
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think like most things you have to weigh the risks against various factors.
In China all the pilots are scared to fly above 8900m for fear of long term radiation poisoning....yet they are perfectly happy to smoke in the cockpit and don't wear protective breathing masks in the major cities. They also like to fly slow because the noise is bad for them...thus prolonging their exposure.
The newspapers are fine when you're over low traffic density areas during cruise, but leaving them up until below 3000m flying through Beijing airspace? comon! what's the greater risk here?
Oh...and you get three or four X-Rays a year with a Chinese flight physical.
Yes there certainly is greater radiation exposure at high altitude and the exposure is greater along extreme northern routes during periods of high solar activity. This is why long haul weather packages include the space storm outlooks.
The thing is...if the metal skin and windshield aren't protecting you from low frequency radiation, newspapers, sunglasses and long sleeve shirts won't either. The high frequency radiation will be blocked by the airframe. Mostly the newspapers make the sunlight less annoying, especially when it's sitting on your nose on a westbound flight taking it's sweet time to go down. The greatest health benefit there is reduced stress and fatigue. Just don't rub the ink all over your hands.
In China all the pilots are scared to fly above 8900m for fear of long term radiation poisoning....yet they are perfectly happy to smoke in the cockpit and don't wear protective breathing masks in the major cities. They also like to fly slow because the noise is bad for them...thus prolonging their exposure.
The newspapers are fine when you're over low traffic density areas during cruise, but leaving them up until below 3000m flying through Beijing airspace? comon! what's the greater risk here?
Oh...and you get three or four X-Rays a year with a Chinese flight physical.
Yes there certainly is greater radiation exposure at high altitude and the exposure is greater along extreme northern routes during periods of high solar activity. This is why long haul weather packages include the space storm outlooks.
The thing is...if the metal skin and windshield aren't protecting you from low frequency radiation, newspapers, sunglasses and long sleeve shirts won't either. The high frequency radiation will be blocked by the airframe. Mostly the newspapers make the sunlight less annoying, especially when it's sitting on your nose on a westbound flight taking it's sweet time to go down. The greatest health benefit there is reduced stress and fatigue. Just don't rub the ink all over your hands.
