US experts have reassured airline travellers that they should not worry about high-altitude exposure to cosmic radiation. Wallace Freiburg, head of radiobiology research at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Civil Aeromedical Institute, said, “I don’t think it [cosmic radiation] poses such a risk that people should be concerned about flying.” However, researchers at an American Airlines and pilots union seminar on cosmic radiation believe the problem needs monitoring, particularly in flight crew who spend more time in the air than the typical traveller.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 20th March 2001