This photo taken on April 29, 2020 shows flight attendants at the departure hall of Incheon International Airport in Incheon, just west of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — To ensure the health of flight attendants who are exposed to cosmic radiation during flights, the government plans to greatly strengthen government regulations regarding annual exposure limits.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday that it had issued an administrative notice concerning the revision of the cosmic radiation safety management regulations for flight attendants.
The revision, scheduled to be enforced within the first half of this year, revises the annual exposure limit for flight attendants to less than 6 millisievert (mSv).
Previously, the exposure limit was less than 100 mSv for five years, with a maximum of 50 mSv per year.
The revision also lowered the annual exposure limit for pregnant flight attendants from less than 2 mSv to less than 1 mSv.
The ministry explained that this move is based on consideration of the potential danger that the exposure to cosmic radiation could have on the human body.
According to the ministry, the average radiation exposure in 2019 for flight attendants at Korean Air and Asiana Airlines stood at 2.82 mSv and 2.79 mSv, respectively, far higher than the 0.43mSv reported for those working at nuclear plants.
The annual radiation exposure for flight attendants working at the nation’s 10 airlines averaged 2.21 mSv.
Although this figure is lower than the current standard of 50 mSv, many have pointed out the need to toughen regulations on exposure to cosmic radiation.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
