Radiation Protection Dosimetry 86:329-331 (1999)
© 1999 Oxford University Press
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) Perspective: The Operator Experience and Views
The EU Council has adopted a Directive laying down the basic safety standards for the protection of aircrew exposed to cosmic radiation. As a result, carriers must determine which operations are likely to result in exposures exceeding 1 mSv, how to estimate the effective doses for individual crew members, inform the flight crews of possible health risks involved and ensure that the dose received by the foetus will not exceed 1 mSv following declaration of pregnancy. Members of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) welcome this initiative but emphasise the need for an harmonised approach. Over the years many AEA carriers have been involved in work on cosmic radiation in cooperation with the scientific community. They have measured and estimated doses on their network, made educational materials available to crew members, participated in epidemiological studies and collaborated with other interested parties. At present, AEA carriers are in the process of harmonising the advice given to all crew members together with the additional more specific information necessary for women. Many airlines are also participating in a major European epidemiological study. Finally, AEA airlines continue to be extensively involved in the measurement and estimation of cosmic radiation levels. The AEA airlines believe the EURATOM Directive may best be implemented by route dose estimation using a common mathematical model. This would have the advantage that modelling is accepted worldwide as a credible and practical method of dose estimates and overcomes the logistic problems, the likelihood of equipment failure and error inherent in direct measurement. In addition, it allows for consistency of route dose estimates among various airlines and finally offers the opportunity for independent scrutiny and audit as required.