Dosimetry at aviation altitudes (2006–2008)

Based upon the European Union (EU)-Directive 96/29/EURATOM, legal regulations on the radiation protection of aircrew had to be implemented into the corresponding national law within the member states of the EU by 13 May 2000. In Article 42 the directive stipulates, among other things, that the exposure of the crew concerned shall be assessed. This requirement has been implemented by dose calculations for most aircrew members in the EU. Some airlines and research institutes regularly spot check the calculated doses by measuring flights. The solar minimum is a time period of particular interest since the dose rates at aviation altitudes reach their maximum within the 11-year solar cycle. For this reason, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) performed repeated measuring flights in cooperation with several German airlines during the past solar minimum from March 2006 to August 2008. The measuring devices used consisted of a tissue equivalent proportional counter, various types of Liulin semiconductor detectors and several bubble detectors