Some Recent Photon Measurements at Airliner Altitudes

摘要

With the large numbers of airliner flights and passengers, the airlines, regulators and passengers themselves have been concerned with radiation levels at airliner altitudes. The author has taken many measurements of penetrating photon and cosmic radiation levels on hundreds of commercial airline flights, domestic and international, over the past nineteen years. These flights and measurement data have been taken at latitudes from about 25 degrees N latitude to about 60 degrees N latitude, or from Florida in the United States, to Helsinki, Finland. Three totally different and extremely highly detectable portable radiation detection instruments have been used in taking the radiation exposure-rate and, in most cases, integrated radiation exposure data. One is a pressurized ionization chamber while the other two employ Geiger-Mueller detectors. In addition, several airline pilots have shown sufficient interest to the extent that they have also separately used one of the referenced radiation detectors for measurements on a number of flights. Some of the radiation detection data are discussed along with some conclusions reached after reviewing these many data. This is a continuing project with several issues yet to be resolved. Remaining issues include measurement of the variation of photon and cosmic radiation levels versus latitude and longitude, and neutron measurements.