How much cosmic radiation do pilots get a year?
Checked against the sources below on 29 October 2026. How these guides are written
Log it in Off Chocks, free for your first 50 logged hours.On a computer? Scan this with your iPhone camera to open Off Chocks in the App Store.
Airline aircrew average about 2.7 mSv of effective dose a year from cosmic radiation, with national averages from 1.0 to 3.1 mSv (UNSCEAR 2020/2021, data for 2010 to 2014). A single long-haul sector is typically 30 to 80 microsieverts. The 1 mSv public limit does not apply to crew as a limit; in Europe it is the level above which operators must assess crew exposure, 6 mSv is the level where stricter rules apply, and 20 mSv a year is the occupational limit.
Estimate your own yearly doseEnter your block hours, cruise level and routes, and the calculator runs the model the Off Chocks app uses.- Average aircrew dose
- 2.7 mSv a year (range 1.0 to 3.1 by country)
- 2010 to 2014
- UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Annex D
- Public dose limit
- 1 mSv a year; EU trigger to assess crew
- Per year
- Euratom 2013/59 Art 12, Art 35
- Reference level
- 6 mSv a year (Australia); EU stricter rules above 6
- Per year
- ARPANSA RPS G-2; Euratom Art 35(3)
- Occupational limit
- 20 mSv a year (EU single year); 20 mSv 5-year average (ICRP, FAA)
- Per year
- Euratom Art 9; FAA AC 120-61B
The average for aircrew
UNSCEAR's 2020/2021 report on occupational exposure gives the civil aviation "average annual effective dose" as 2.7, 2.8 and 2.7 mSv for 2000 to 2004, 2005 to 2009 and 2010 to 2014, with national values "from 1.0 to 3.1 mSv for the period 2010–2014". These doses are worked out with flight-dose software, not measured with badges. The FAA's Advisory Circular 120-61B notes that aircrew rank among the most exposed groups of workers.
Per flight
ARPANSA publishes these one-way doses (data from Capt Ian Getley): Darwin to Perth 16 µSv, Darwin to Singapore 9 µSv, Melbourne to Singapore to London 65 µSv, Melbourne to Johannesburg 71 µSv, Sydney to Buenos Aires 68 µSv, Buenos Aires to Sydney 80 µSv. At 30°S it takes about 300 hours at FL330, 240 hours at FL360 or 200 hours at FL390 to reach 1 mSv.
The FAA's AC 120-61B (CARI-7 model) gives London to New York 27.3 µSv, Chicago to London 30.8 µSv, London to Los Angeles 44.6 µSv and New York to Tokyo 55.1 µSv. Dose rises with altitude, with latitude (more at high geomagnetic latitudes, less near the equator) and at solar minimum.
What the 1, 6 and 20 mSv numbers mean
1 mSv a year is the public dose limit. It is not a crew limit. In the EU, where crew dose "is liable to be above 1 mSv per year", operators must assess exposure, take it into account in rosters, inform crew and protect pregnant crew (Euratom 2013/59 Art 35).
6 mSv a year is the point where the EU's stricter occupational rules apply (Art 35(3)), and ARPANSA's reference level for Australian aircrew (RPS G-2). ARPANSA says it "is not a dose limit". ICRP Publication 132 recommends a reference level in the 5 to 10 mSv a year range for the most exposed crew.
20 mSv is the occupational limit. Euratom sets it "in any single year"; the ICRP and the FAA express it as a 5-year average of 20 mSv a year with no more than 50 mSv in one year. For pregnant crew the FAA recommends no more than 0.5 mSv a month to the conceptus, and ARPANSA about 1 mSv a year.
Mistakes pilots make
- Treating 1 mSv as a crew limit. It is the public limit, and in Europe the trigger for assessing crew.
- Treating 6 mSv as a limit. It is a reference level and a threshold for stricter rules.
- Comparing a single sector dose with an annual limit. A long-haul sector is tens of microsieverts; a year of full-time flying is a few millisieverts.
What Off Chocks tracks
- Off Chocks estimates your rolling 12-month cosmic radiation dose from the flights in your logbook (route, altitude band and time aloft), on your device.
- It is an awareness estimate, not a dosimeter or an official dose record. For an official figure, use your operator's dose program or the FAA's CARI-7.
Common questions
- How much radiation does a pilot get a year?
- About 2.7 mSv on average for airline crew, with national averages from 1.0 to 3.1 mSv (UNSCEAR 2020/2021, 2010 to 2014 data).
- How much radiation is one long-haul flight?
- Typically 30 to 80 microsieverts one way. Melbourne to Johannesburg is about 71 µSv and London to New York about 27 µSv (ARPANSA; FAA AC 120-61B).
- Is there a radiation limit for pilots?
- The occupational limit is 20 mSv a year (EU, any single year; ICRP and FAA as a 5-year average). Typical aircrew doses are well below it.
Sources
- UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report, Annex D: Evaluation of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation
- ARPANSA: Flying and health
- ARPANSA RPS G-2: Guide for radiation protection in existing exposure situations (2017)
- FAA Advisory Circular 120-61B: In-Flight Radiation Exposure (2014)
- Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, Article 35
- ICRP Publication 132: Radiological Protection from Cosmic Radiation in Aviation
This is general information from the published research and regulators, not medical advice. For your own situation, ask your aviation medical examiner, an occupational physician or your operator's radiation protection officer. Any estimate in Off Chocks is for your own awareness, not a dosimeter reading.