<p>Aircraft pilots are at considerable risk of skin cancer, being exposed to ultra violet (UV) rays of the sun, which aircraft windshields do not completely block, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>According to researchers, pilots flying for an hour at an altitude of 30,000 feet are exposed to the same amount of solar radiation as during 20 minutes on a tanning bed, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.<br /><br />Writing in the journal Jama Dermatology, the authors, led by Martina Sanlorenzo from the University of California, San Francisco, also noted: "These (exposure) levels could be significantly higher when flying over thick cloud layers and snow fields, which could reflect up to 85 percent of UV radiation."<br /><br />The study found that airplane windshields, made of polycarbonate plastic, or multilayer composite glass, do not completely block UV-A radiation.<br /><br />The researchers concluded that compared with the general population, airline pilots and flight crews may be twice as much at the risk of melanoma (malignant skin cancer). <br /><br />UV-A radiation can cause DNA damage in cells and its role in melanoma -- a lethal type of skin cancer -- is well known, according to the report.<br /><br />Aircrews were also found to face an increased risk of exposure to cosmic rays -- X-rays, gamma rays and subatomic particles -- from space. <br /><br />The radiation in cockpits was measured at the pilot's seat of a general turboprop airplane, through the acrylic plastic windshield, at ground level and at various altitudes above the sea level.<br /><br />Sun exposures were measured in San Jose, California, and in Las Vegas around midday in the month of April.<br /><br />The researchers then compared them with measurements taken on tanning beds.<br />While short-wave UV-B radiation cannot easily penetrate glass and plastic windows, long-wave UV-A is much more likely to get through, though both kinds of UV rays can cause skin ageing and cancer.<br /></p>
<p>Aircraft pilots are at considerable risk of skin cancer, being exposed to ultra violet (UV) rays of the sun, which aircraft windshields do not completely block, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>According to researchers, pilots flying for an hour at an altitude of 30,000 feet are exposed to the same amount of solar radiation as during 20 minutes on a tanning bed, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.<br /><br />Writing in the journal Jama Dermatology, the authors, led by Martina Sanlorenzo from the University of California, San Francisco, also noted: "These (exposure) levels could be significantly higher when flying over thick cloud layers and snow fields, which could reflect up to 85 percent of UV radiation."<br /><br />The study found that airplane windshields, made of polycarbonate plastic, or multilayer composite glass, do not completely block UV-A radiation.<br /><br />The researchers concluded that compared with the general population, airline pilots and flight crews may be twice as much at the risk of melanoma (malignant skin cancer). <br /><br />UV-A radiation can cause DNA damage in cells and its role in melanoma -- a lethal type of skin cancer -- is well known, according to the report.<br /><br />Aircrews were also found to face an increased risk of exposure to cosmic rays -- X-rays, gamma rays and subatomic particles -- from space. <br /><br />The radiation in cockpits was measured at the pilot's seat of a general turboprop airplane, through the acrylic plastic windshield, at ground level and at various altitudes above the sea level.<br /><br />Sun exposures were measured in San Jose, California, and in Las Vegas around midday in the month of April.<br /><br />The researchers then compared them with measurements taken on tanning beds.<br />While short-wave UV-B radiation cannot easily penetrate glass and plastic windows, long-wave UV-A is much more likely to get through, though both kinds of UV rays can cause skin ageing and cancer.<br /></p>