HR: 17:45h
AN: SA24A-08    [Abstracts]
TI: Impact of the Near-Earth Space Environment on Human Radiation Exposure at Commercial Airline Altitudes
AU: * Mertens, C J
EM: c.j.mertens@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Science Directorate, 21 Langley Blvd., MS 401B, Hampton, VA 23681-2199 United States
AU: Blattnig, S R
EM: s.r.blattnig@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Research and Technology Directorate, 6 East Reid St., MS 388, Hampton, VA 23681-2199 United States
AU: Solomon, S C
EM: stans@ucar.edu
AF: High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3450 Mitchel Lane, Boulder, CO 80301 United States
AU: Wiltberger, M J
EM: wiltbemj@ucar.edu
AF: High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3450 Mitchel Lane, Boulder, CO 80301 United States
AU: Kunches, J
EM: joseph.kunches@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA Space Environment Center, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3337 United States
AU: Kress, B T
EM: bkress@dartmouth.edu
AF: Datmouth College, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wilder Lab, HB 6127, Hanover, NH 03755 United States
AU: Murray, J J
EM: john.j.murray@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Science Directorate, 21 Langley Blvd., MS 401B, Hampton, VA 23681-2199 United States
AU: Wilson, J W
EM: john.w.wilson@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Research and Technology Directorate, 6 East Reid St., MS 388, Hampton, VA 23681-2199 United States
AB: There is a growing concern for the health and safety of commercial aircrew and passengers due to their exposure to ionizing radiation with high linear energy transfer (LET), particularly at high latitudes. The International Commission of Radiobiological Protection (ICRP), the EPA, and the FAA consider the crews of commercial aircraft as radiation workers. The FAA reports that pregnant crew members may run a risk as high as 1.3 per thousand births of severe illness to their children as a result of background radiation exposure. During solar energetic particle (SEP) events, radiation exposure can exceed annual limits, and the number of serious health effects is expected to be quite high if precautions are not taken. Health concerns for frequent-flyer passengers are similar to the health concerns of the crew. There is a need for a capability to monitor background radiations levels at commercial airline altitudes and to provide analytical input for airline operations decisions for altering flight paths and altitudes for the mitigation and reduction of radiation exposure levels during a SEP event. Efforts are currently underway to develop a global, nowcast (real-time) capability for calculating ionizing radiation exposure at commercial airline altitudes. The state-of-the-art in physics-based transport of high energy galactic cosmic ray and solar cosmic ray particles will be presented. Paramount to reliable real-time transport calculations is an accurate and timely specification of the boundary conditions, such as the incident differential energy flux and geomagnetic cutoff rigidity, using a combination of satellite observations and empirical space radiation environment models. However, empirical models of the near-Earth radiation environment can only advance with continued observations and development of physics-based models of the heliosphere and the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system. In this paper we also discuss the state-of-the-art in space radiation environment modeling, in relation to atmospheric radiation exposure, and discuss the future needs in modeling and observations.
DE: 7938 Impacts on humans
DE: 7959 Models
DE: 7974 Solar effects
DE: 7984 Space radiation environment
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005