Frequent fliers prone to ‘radiation poisoning from space solar flare’

LONDON - If you’re a frequent airline traveler, you are probably at a greater risk of developing cancer due to high radiation levels from the Sun.

Experts have warned that long-term radiation poisoning from ’solar space storms’ or flare activity from the Sun can cause severe harm.

Researchers found passengers faced the “hazard” of space radiation, which created unhealthy levels of exposure while flying at “typical cruise altitudes” of 40,000 feet.

NASA scientists believe the earth is facing danger from a once-in-a-century ’solar flare’, a disturbance on the Sun’s surface that could cause geomagnetic storms on this planet.

Scientists from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxon found aircrew were ‘the major occupation group’ most exposed to the Sun’s radiation with passengers also at risk from the phenomenon.

“There is an increased risk of cancer. People would be sensible to think about kind of work they do, how much flying they do and what risk that poses. I don’t think that is unreasonable,” the Telegraph quoted Mike Hapgood, the head of the Laboratory’s Space Environment Group, as saying.

Lloyds of London, the insurance market, published the study. (ANI)