ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the cosmic radiation doses to air crew (including pilots and flight attendants) between polar route and non-polar route flights. Methods A typical polar flight route (Beijing-New York) was selected and compared with non-polar route, non-polar route was selected as control group. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeter and CR-39 solid track detector were used to measure the cosmic radiation dose to air crew. Results The annual mean effective dose to air crew from polar route and non-polar route was (5.79 ± 0.92)mSv/a and (2.14 ± 0.64)mSv/a, respectively.The 1000 h effective dose to air crew was (3.10 ± 0.27)mSv/kh and (2.21 ± 0.46)mSv/kh,respectively. There was significant difference between the two groups in either annual mean effective dose (t=30.25, P＜0.05) or 1000 h effective dose (t =7.60, P＜0.05). The doses of pilot groups were higher than that of flight attendants for either polar route ( t = 7.96, P ＜0.05) or non-polar route (t=4.70, P ＜ 0.05). Conclusions The effective dose to air crew from galactic cosmic radiation during polar route fight might be higher than that of non-polar route fight, however, it did not exceed 20 mSv/year,which is the limit of national standard.