Flight Attendants and Pilots Face Highest Risk of Radiation-Related Cancer Mortality in U.S. Occupations
New research published in JAMA Internal Medicine indicates that flight attendants and pilots have the highest and second-highest proportions of radiation-related cancer mortality among over 500 occupations analyzed in the U.S. The study, led by surgeon and health researcher Vishal Patel from Harvard Medical School, utilized data from the U.S. National Vital Statistics System, examining death certificates of 12.7 million individuals who died between 2020 and 2024. The findings suggest that aircrew members receive the largest mean annual effective dose of ionizing radiation of any occupational group in the U.S., primarily from cosmic rays encountered at commercial flight altitudes. Pilots and flight attendants accrue an estimated 3 to 6 millisieverts of cosmic radiation per year, significantly exceeding the 0.4 millisieverts received by an air traveler taking 10 cross-country round trips annually. Radiation-related cancers identified in the study included breast, thyroid, prostate cancers, multiple myeloma, ... 
