• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.96-102
• /
• 2020

Objectives: This study identified factors impacting radiation knowledge among aircrew, who are affected by cosmic radiation exposure due to their occupational environment. Methods: In September 2019 we conducted an online survey of aircrew through a Google link. We evaluated the level of radiation knowledge using a ten-item (10 points) questionnaire. The following exploratory variables were evaluated in relationship with the level of radiation knowledge using univariable linear regression models: sex, age, duration of employment, position level, company, marriage, education level, personal/family history of disease, and the number of times acquiring information on radiation through various channels (internet searching, watching television, reading newspaper, conversation about radiation with aircrew/non-aircrew, in-house training). With a p of 0.2 in univariable models, we built a multivariable linear regression model using a stepwise selection method. Results: The average radiation knowledge score of the 356 respondents was 7.22. Univariable linear regression analysis showed that radiation knowledge of the aircrew was associated with their company, position level, age, and number of conversations with other aircrew members. Our multivariable model showed that the radiation knowledge level of aircrew decreased as they had more conversations about radiation with other aircrew members and as their age increased. Conclusions: Korean air crew showed a lower level of radiation knowledge as their age and the number of conversations with colleagues increased. The study suggests that more education is needed in order for aircrew to gain accurate radiation knowledge.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.672-679
• /
• 2005

Introduction. Cardiovascular disease has the potential to lead to sudden in-flight incapacitation and permanent grounding. The aims of this study are to examine the relationships between lifestyle, job stress and blood lipid levels of male aircrew personnel of a Korean airline and to identify which factors influence their hyper-lipidemia. Methods. Two hundred sixteen male aircrew personnel completed a questionnaire by self-report and consented to participate in the study. The questionnaire collected data related to job stress, life style, serum cholesterol levels and general characteristics of the aircrew. The cholesterol levels of the subjects were collected from their most recent health check-up records. Subjects were divided into two groups (the desirable group and the risk group) based on their serum cholesterol level, 200 mg/dl. Results. Mean age and marital status were significantly different between the two groups. More subjects in the risk group had habits of eating high lipid foods, while more subjects in the desirable group exercised more frequently than the risk group. In logistic regression analysis, after controlling age and marital status, types of working situation (domestic duty or international duty, odds ratio=.390, p=.018), diet (odds ratio=.429, p=.037), and exercise (odds ratio=.320, p=.055) were influencing factors on aircrew's serum cholesterol lev-els. Conclusions. The cholesterol level of aircrew personnel is closely related to their lifestyle, such as lipid diet and exercise. The type of work situations, e.g. staying in an airplane for long periods of time or staying abroad, may influence these diet patterns and exercise habits.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.33-39
• /
• 2014

This paper describes an experimental approach to evaluate the effective doses of space radiations at high-altitude by combining the measured data from the Liulin-6K spectrometer loaded onto the air-borne RC-800 cockpit and the calculated data from CARI-6M code developed by FAA. In this paper, 15 exposed dose experiments for the flight missions at a high-altitude above 10 km and 3 experiments at a normal altitude below 4 km were executed over the Korean Peninsula in 2012. The results from the high-altitude flight measurements show a dramatic change in the exposed doses as the altitude increases. The effective dose levels (an average of $15.27{\mu}Sv$) of aircrew at the high-altitude are an order of magnitude larger than those (an average of $0.30{\mu}Sv$) of the normal altitude flight. The comparison was made between the measure dose levels and the calculated dose levels and those were similar each other. It indicates that the annual dose levels of the aircrew boarding RC-800 could be above 1 mSv. These results suggest that a proper procedure to manage the exposed dose of aircrew is required for ROK Air Force.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.581-590
• /
• 2002

Purpose: The purpose of this correlational study was to identify relationships among job stress, health beliefs and health behaviors of aircrews and contributing factors to aircrew's health promoting behaviors. Method: Two-hundred twenty-four aircrew members completed questionnaires. The questionnaires were composed of a demographic form, health behavior scale, self-efficacy scale, perceived benefit scale, perceived barrier scale, job demand scale, and latitude scale. Result: The subject's health behavior has shown significant correlations with self-efficacy, benefit, and barrier. Significant negative correlations were found between job stress and self-efficacy. Relationships between job stress and barriers were also statistically significant. In demographic features, statistically significant difference were found between subject's rank and job stress score. Also, there was a significant difference between health behavior and the subject's age. Conclusion: Future efforts should focus on the development of a program to consider aircrew's perceived benefits, perceived barriers and self-efficacy to the compliance of health promoting behaviors.

• Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.93-95
• /
• 2019

Middle-ear barotrauma is a common problem reported by aircrew members and passengers. Studies have shown that 20~50% of passengers report ear complaints during the flight or after landing. Barotitis media is defined as an acute or chronic inflammation caused by a pressure differential between the tympanic cavity and the surrounding atmosphere. The Problems caused by otitis media or sinusitis of aircrew during landing and take-off can be a threat to aviation safety. Therefore, the aviation medical examiner should know about barotitis media of aircrews. In this paper, we aimed to learn what is barotitis media and how much it could affect aircrews. Also, we aimed to evaluate how barotitis media could make an impact on crews during flight, and how to manage these problems.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.141-150
• /
• 2004

Dose rate characteristics of cosmic radiation field at flight altitudes were analyzed and the route doses to the personnels on board due to cosmic-ray were calculated for Korean-based commercial international airline routes using CARI-6. Annual individual doses to aircrew and the collective effective dose of passengers were estimated by applying the calculated route doses to the flight schedules of aircrew and the air travel statistics of Korea. The result shows that the annual doses to aircrew, around 2.62 mSv, exceed the annual dose limit of public and are comparable to doses of the group of workers occupationally exposed. Therefore it is necessary to consider the frequent flyers as well as the aircrew as the occupational exposure group. The annual collective dose to 11 million Korean passengers in 2001 appeared to be 136 man-Sv. The results should be modified when the dose rates of cosmic radiation at high altitude are revised by taking into account the changes in the radiation weighting factors for protons and neutrons as given in ICRP 92.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.59-75
• /
• 2001

The purposes of this study were to investigate risk factors of low back pain in civil airmen and to use this information as basis for the back rehabilitation. Subjects of this study were randomly selected 276 civil airmen who had been employed at four airports in Seoul. These data were analyzed by $X^2$ test, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple logistic regression using SAS. The results were as follows: 1) The prevalence of low back pain among 276 civil airmen was 64.9%. 2) The most common cause of low back pain was load lifting (stewardess), long sitting (aircrew A), and long sitting plus training (aircrew B). 3) There were no statistically significant associations among age, height, body weight, and low back pain. 4) No statistically significant relationships were found among the average monthly working time, total working time, average monthly rest time, working year and low back pain. 5) There was statistically significant relation ship between abnormal posture and low back pain (p<.01). 6) There was statistically significant relation ship between fatigue and low back pain among stewardess and aircrew B. 7) There was a statistically significant relationship between job satisfaction and job-related stress (p<.05). 8) In stewardess, higher satisfaction score was associated with less likelihood of low back pain (odds ratio = .80). The results of this study indicate that civil airmen developed chronicity of low back pain due to unfit seat, poor habitual posture, fatigue symptom, and stress or other risk factors. Therefore, there is a need to improve the working environment for the prevention of posture-related low back pain.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.99-104
• /
• 2011

Pilots are exposed to carcinogenic substances like radiation, ozone, exhaust gas from jet engine, and electromagnetic wave, their environment can be very hazardous. I designed this study to know if there is any difference between pilots and general people in cancer incidence. I analyzed cancer cases between 1999 and 2008, and investigated their age, site, aircraft types, and sex. I compared pilot's cancer incidence with general people during same periods. Statistical analysis was performed with standardized incidence ratio (SIR). 10 cases were high performance pilots, 5 cases were low performance pilots. The average age when the diagnosis had been made was $39{\pm}7.8$. Pilot's incidence ratio was lower than people's, the most common cancer was kidney, and there was no lung cancer. Cancer is influenced by gene and environment, each country has different patterns. The low incidence ratio in Korean pilots might be due to "healthy worker effect". I think we should perform further investigation on kidney cancer.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 1993.10a
• /
• pp.179-180
• /
• 1993

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.91-97
• /
• 2018

High-energy charged particles are comprised of galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles which are mainly originated from the supernova explosion, active galactic nuclei, and the Sun. These primary charged particles which have sufficient energy to penetrate the Earth's magnetic field collide with the Earth's upper atmosphere, that is $N_2$ and $O_2$, and create secondary particles and ionizing radiation. The ionizing radiation can be measured at commercial flight altitude. So it is recommended to manage radiation dose of aircrew as workers under radiation environment to protect their health and safety. However, it is hard to deploy radiation measurement instrument to commercial aircrafts and monitor radiation dose continuously. So the numerical model calculation is performed to assess radiation exposure at flight altitude. In this paper, we present comparison result between measurement data recorded on several flights and estimation data calculated using model and examine the characteristics of the radiation environment in the atmosphere.