Job With Highest Risk of Radiation Cancer Revealed Out of Over 500 Occupations

A comprehensive study examining occupational cancer risks across over 500 professions has identified an unexpected finding: flight attendants face the highest risk of radiation-related cancer mortality, with pilots following as a close second. This discovery, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, surpasses even workers in nuclear medicine facilities and X-ray departments in terms of radiation exposure danger.

The culprit behind this elevated risk is cosmic radiation encountered at high altitudes. While Earth’s atmosphere shields ground-level inhabitants from harmful cosmic rays, this protective effect diminishes significantly at commercial flight altitudes. Flight crews accumulate between 3 to 6 millisieverts of cosmic radiation annually—substantially more than the 0.4 millisieverts received by passengers taking multiple cross-country trips yearly.

Researchers analyzed mortality data from 12.7 million death certificates spanning 2020 to 2024, categorizing cancer types as either radiation-related or non-radiation-related. Flight attendants showed 50 percent higher rates of radiation-associated cancers than other occupational groups, while pilots demonstrated a 36 percent increase. Notably, these same professions showed median rates of non-radiation-related cancers, suggesting cosmic radiation exposure specifically drives the difference.

Experts note that potential protective measures could include enhanced medical monitoring for aircrew members and more frequent cancer screenings. Additional research may reveal whether other factors, such as UV exposure through aircraft windows or circadian disruptions from shift work, contribute to these elevated cancer risks.

Originally reported by Sciencealert →