After 25 years of long-haul flights, the flying carer was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer and died a month later
Following a historic ruling in Korea, according to which the death of a flight attendant from cancer amounts to an occupational accident, South Korean airline Korean Air announced today that it “strictly adheres” to rules regarding the cosmic radiation exposure of its flight personnel.
According to the decision of the Korean Workers’ Compensation and Social Protection Agency, issued last month and provided to AFP today, the cancer death of a flight attendant who traveled for the national airline for 25 years was due to his exposure to cosmic radiation.
The flying caretakerof whom only the last name, Song, is mentioned, spent nearly 1,022 hours on an aircraft each yearwith almost half of the flights covering long distance routes to the Americas and Europe.
These routes expose the crews to more cosmic radiation, as they involve a flyby over the North Pole where the radiation is higher because of the Earth’s magnetic field.
It is the first time that an official South Korean body recognizes her correlation between cosmic radiation and cancer for aircrew in a work-related death.
A significant number of crew members were diagnosed with blood and breast cancersand many are on sick leave, pointed out Kim Seong-hyun, a lawyer for the Song family.
The company’s announcement
Korean Air declined to comment on the public agency’s decision, denying it did anything wrong.
“Korean Air strictly adheres to personal data, and staff members can verify their cumulative amount of exposure to cosmic radiationupdated monthly”the company announced in a statement sent to AFP.
The company limits exposure to radiation “below 6 mSv per month“reported, where “it is much stricter than the legal maximum radiation exposure rule, which can reach up to 50 mSv per year.”
Nevertheless the agency estimated that it is possible that the worker was exposed to “more than 100 mSv of cumulative radiation” and that the measurement method used by Korean Air should have been able to minimize the actual amount of radiation.
South Korea in June amended a law that cap on the number of international flights that crew members can take to minimize their exposure to cosmic radiationthe Yonhap news agency had broadcast at the time.
Source :Skai
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