Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Union Council Directive 96/29/EURATOM. While member states were required
to transpose these provisions into national law by May 2000, there are wide variances
between different member states' implementations of these new regulations (Bartlett,
1999; Courades, 1999).
The EURATOM legislation requires that:
Exposure records must be kept for exposed aircrew.
Appropriate measures should be undertaken in order to assess exposure to cos-
mic radiation of aircrew who are liable to be subject to cosmic radiation in excess
of 1mSv yr -1 .
Exposure should be taken into account when organizing work schedules to reduce
the received dose.
Workers must be informed of the occupational health risks.
Additional provision should be made for pregnant aircrew (or breast-feeding air-
crew) because of the increased risk of chromosomal damage to the foetus. Once
pregnancy is declared, the employer is obliged to plan future occupational expo-
sure to the foetus so that it is as low as reasonably achievable, and no greater than
1mSv yr -1 , for the remainder of the pregnancy. To achieve this legislation some air-
craft operators have determined that pregnant crew members cease flying duties
on declaration of pregnancy. 5
Overall, flight personnel operate within an environment containing high levels of cos-
mic radiation and appear to be at an increased occupational risk for several types of
cancer. While current legislation addresses this occupational risk, further studies are
still required to establish the true nature of the risk, including the contribution of
other occupational and non-occupational confounding factors.
F INAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE CABIN
ENVIRONMENT
Despite all of the concerns regarding the in-flight cabin environment, air travel is
still as safe (if not safer) a mode of transportation as any other, and most of the cur-
rent issues mentioned previously relate to small and, as yet, often unproven health
risks. However, the aircraft cabin is an example of a niche environment that is still to
be fully characterized, and there is still the need for the appropriate professionals
and airline companies to investigate in-flight health issues. Airlines need to exhibit
caution with regard to the health of the cabin environment for a number of reasons.
First, from a consumer perspective, passengers expect airlines to provide a safe and
comfortable travel experience and will not support airlines that cannot offer this. Sec-
ond, many health-affected passengers are now pursuing legal routes, and to avoid lit-
igation airlines will need to be able to demonstrate transparency with regard to how
they cater for the health of their passengers, rather than the obstacles to information
access that many believe airlines currently have in place.
Ultimately, there is an onus on airlines, with the cooperation of scientists and med-
ical professionals, in order to assess and inform the public and cabin staff about in-
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