Flight deck magnetic fields in commercial aircraft

✍ Scribed by Joyce S. Nicholas; Gary C. Butler; Daniel T. Lackland; W. Charles Hood Jr.; David G. Hoel; Lawrence C. Mohr Jr.

• Book ID: 101334723
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 286 KB
• Volume: 38
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-3586
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0274(200011)38:5<548::aid-ajim7>3.0.co;2-h

✦ Synopsis

Background Airline pilots are exposed to magnetic ®elds generated by the aircraft's electrical system. The objectives of this study were (1) to directly measure ¯ight deck magnetic ®elds in terms of personal exposure to the pilots when ¯ying on different aircraft types over a 75-hour ¯ight-duty month, and (2) to compare magnetic ®eld exposures across ¯ight deck types and job titles. Methods Measurements were taken using personal dosimeters carried by either the Captain or the First Of®cer on Boeing 737/200, Boeing 747/400, Boeing 767/300ER, and Airbus 320 aircraft. Results Approximately 1,008 block hours were recorded at a sampling frequency of 3 seconds. Total block time exposure to the pilots ranged from a harmonic geometric mean of 6.7 milliGauss (mG) for the Boeing 767/300ER to 12.7 mG for the Boeing 737/200. Conclusions Measured ¯ight deck magnetic ®eld levels were substantially above the 0.8±1 mG level typically found in the home or of®ce and suggest the need for further study to evaluate potential health effects of long-term exposure.