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Radiation Exposure From Flight Calculator

Work out radiation exposure from flight instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Radiation Exposure From Flight Calculator

Cosmic radiation intensity roughly doubles every 2000 m of altitude and is higher near the poles because the geomagnetic field deflects less there. At 11 km on a mid-latitude route the rate is about 5 uSv/h, so an eight hour flight delivers 40 uSv - two chest X-rays, or 1.7% of the 2400 uSv annual natural background.

Formulas

Dose rate scaling

roughly doubles per 2000 m of altitude

Total dose

dose = rate x flight hours x route factor

Worked example

With the default values below, Radiation Exposure From Flight Calculator returns Cosmic Radiation Dose of 40.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Flight durationminimum 0 h
8 h
Cruising altitudeminimum 0 m
11,000 m
Route latitudeone of Equatorial (lower dose), Mid-latitude, Polar route (higher dose)
Mid-latitude

Results

Cosmic Radiation Dose
40.00 uSv
Dose Rate At Cruise
5.00 uSv/h
Equivalent Chest X-Rays
2.00
Share Of Annual Natural Background
1.67%

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Dose rate scaling
  3. 3Total dose
  4. 4Cosmic Radiation Dose= 40.00 uSv
  5. 5Dose Rate At Cruise= 5.00 uSv/h
  6. 6Equivalent Chest X-Rays= 2.00
  7. 7Share Of Annual Natural Background= 1.67

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should frequent flyers be concerned?

Aircrew are classified as occupationally exposed in many countries, typically accumulating 2-5 mSv a year - comparable to natural background but monitored.

Why are polar routes higher?

Because Earth's magnetic field funnels charged particles towards the poles rather than deflecting them, so shielding is weakest there.

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