Crews of commercial airlines are exposed to a higher level of background cosmic radiation during flight time than they would receive on the ground. A single round-trip, coast-to-coast flight gives a dose of about 0.012 rems. If a stewardess made 200 such flights in one year, how would her annual dose compare with a normal annual exposure on the ground of 3.6 mSv? (100 rem = 1 Sv)

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The annual dose from 200 flights is 200 x 0.012 rems = 2.4 rems = 24 mSv. The normal annual exposure on the ground is 3.6 mSv, so 24 mSv is a bit less than 10 times more than 3.6 mSv.

Crews of Commercial Airlines Are Exposed to a Higher Level