The Flight Crew Research Program at NIOSH

Over 198,000 U.S. flight personnel work in commercial aircraft cabins with potential exposure to cosmic ionizing radiation, alterations of circadian rhythm from travel across time zones, cabin pollutants such as tobacco smoke and ozone, physical demands such as prolonged standing, and psychological demands such as job stress. Few studies have characterized air cabin exposures and health outcomes among U.S. flight crew. In partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Cancer Institute, the HHS Office of Women’s Health and the Department of Defense Women’s Health Research Program, NIOSH has established a program of research in this unique occupational group. Studies are underway to characterize exposures in the aircraft cabin environment and to examine a variety of health effects in flight attendants and pilots. Health effects under investigation include menstrual function, pregnancy outcome, infertility, cancer, respiratory symptoms, job stress, physical demands and overall mortality. These studies will help scientists to determine if flight crews’ working environments put them at risk of adverse health effects, and if so, what measures would be needed to reduce that risk.

Current Reports:

Note: Links to papers published in journals connect to abstracts and bibliographic information in NIOSHTIC-2, the NIOSH publications database. NIOSHTIC-2 entries include links to source journals.

• Evaluation of airborne culturable fungal concentrations on wide-body commercial passenger aircraft
  (American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo, May 21-26, 2005, Anaheim, California. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2005 May; :7)
• Numerical simulation of airflow and airborne pathogen transport in aircraft cabins - part II: numerical simulation of airborne pathogen transport
  ASHRAE Trans 2005 Jan; 111(Part 1):764-768
• Numerical simulation of airflow and airborne pathogen transport in aircraft cabins - part I: numerical simulation of the flow field
  ASHRAE Trans 2005 Jan; 111(Part 1):755-763
• Experimental Characterization of Airflows in Aircraft Cabins-Part II
  ASHRAE Transactions 2005 (accepted).
• Experimental Characterization of Airflows in Aircraft Cabins-Part I: Experimental System and Measurement Procedure
  ASHRAE Transactions 2005 (accepted)
• Self-reported flight hours vs. company records for epidemiologic studies of flight attendants
  (Aviat Space Environ Med 2004 Sep; 75(9):806-810)
• Prevalence of Respiratory Symptoms Among Female Flight Attendants and Teachers
  (Occup Environ Med 2003 Dec; 60(12):929-934)
• Cancer Incidence in Airline Cabin Crew
  (Occup Environ Med 2003 Nov; 60(11):805-806)
• Body Clock Disruption, Linked With Travel Across Time Zones, Seen in Study of Flight Attendants
  Information about a NIOSH Study that shows disruptions in circadian rhythm in female flight attendants.
  Measuring and Identifying Large-Scale Metrics for Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Female Flight Attendants
  (Scand J Work, Environ & Health 2003 Oct; 29(5):337-346)
• Job Stress Among Female Flight Attendants
  (J Occup Environ Med 2003 Jul; 45(7):703-714)
• A specific case: cosmic radiation exposures of flight crew
  (Occupational Radiation Protection: Protecting Workers Against Exposure to Ionizing Radiation. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency, 2003 Jul; :407-408)
• Characterization of endotoxin and 3-hydroxy fatty acid levels in air and settled dust in commercial aircraft cabins
  (Indoor Air 2003 Jun; 13(2):166-173)
• Feasibility Issues in Reproductive Biomonitoring of Female Flight Attendants and Teachers
  (J Occup Environ Med 2002 Oct 44(10):947-955)
• Radiation Dose Estimation for Epidemiologic Studies of Flight Attendants
  (Am J Ind Med, 2002 Jan 41(1):27-37)
• The NIOSH/FAA Working Women's Health Study: Evaluation of the Cosmic-Radiation Exposures of Flight Attendants
  (Health Phys 2000 Nov, 79(5):553-559)

Related Resources

Cosmic Radiation and Air Travel
External Link: http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/env/cosmic/WHO_Info_Sheet_Cosmic_Radiation.pdf
  PDF150 KB (4 pages) 
World Health Organization Information Sheet November 2005

NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations:

NIOSH conducts Health Hazard Evaluations (HHEs) to find out whether there are health hazards to employees caused by exposures or conditions in the workplace.

HHE Report No. HETA-90-226-2281, Alaska Airlines, Seattle, Washington
Details an evaluation of potential employee exposure to toxic gases and lack of oxygen aboard flights of Alaska Airlines.

Other Web Sites:

What Commercial Aircraft Crewmembers Should Know About Their Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation
External Link: http://www.faa.gov/safety/programs_initiatives/health/aircrew
  PDF 682 KB (14 pages) 
Training guide prepared by the FAA's Civil Aeospace Medical Institute (CAMI).

FAA's Radiobiology Research Team page
External Link: http://www.faa.gov/education_research/research/med_humanfacs/aeromedical/radiobiology/
Features "CARI-6," on online calculator that determines estimated radiation doses received on an aircraft flying a great circle route between any two airports in the world.