Measurement of effective cosmic radiation dose contributed by photon and neutron for the aircrew in polar route flight from Beijing to New York

Abstract

Objective To measure the cumulative cosmic radiation dose of aircrew in polar flight and to assess whether the dose exceeds the national standard in order to ensure flight safety and their health. Methods Photoluminescence (OSL) dosimeter and CR-39 solid track detector were used to measure the cosmic radiation dose contributed by photon and neutron. The individual effective dose of pilots (6 persons) and stewards (12 persons), who were in the typical polar flight route (Beijing-New York), were measured and compared with the control group whose values were gathered from 10 monitors on ground site. Results The 1000 h effective dose from the groups of pilot and stewards was (3.43±0.08) mSv/1000 h and (2.94±0. 14) mSv/1000 h respectively comparing to (0.07±0. 02) mSv/1000 h gathered from ground sites. The statistic showed significant differences among these 3 groups. The annual effective does was then respectively summarized as 5. 34, 6.06 and 0.63 mSv/a corresponding to above groups. Conclusions The annual effective dose of aircrew's in polar flight does not exceed the limit of national standard (20 mSv/a). Such polar flight will not cause aircrew suffered from excessive cosmic radiation and it's not necessary to carry extra mental load. Key words: Cosmic radiation ; Photons ; Neutrons ; Radiation dosage ;