Commercial Flight Crews at Heightened Risk for Melanomas
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Adam Berry/Getty Images(SAN FRANCISCO) — One of the lesser known occupational hazards of being part of a commercial flight crew is that workers are more susceptible to melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Dr. Martina Sanlorenzo of the University of California, San Francisco and her colleagues pored over 19 studies over nearly 25 years and discovered that the rate of pilots and cabin crews contracting melanoma is more than double that of the general population.
Moreover, those in flight-based occupations had a 40 percent greater likelihood of dying from melanoma compared to others.
What accounts for the bigger risk to pilots and flight crew? The researchers say it’s probably due to them being exposed to greater amounts of ultraviolet radiation for greater periods of time.
In fact, at 30,000 feet, the UV level is twice as much of what people on the ground are exposed to.
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