In South Korea, a government agency has just recognized, for the first time, that the cancer that killed a flight attendant in 2021 could be recognized as a real work accident.
A government agency in South Korea says a flight attendant’s fatal cancer was directly caused by the cosmic radiation she suffered during her career. The airline fought against this decision fearing that it would set a precedent and The Korean Workers’ Compensation and Health Agency’s decision was eagerly awaited. In South Korea, mbut also in other countries where cabin crew are very worried about their health.
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This flight attendant was named Song, worked on the airline Korean Air from 1995 to 2021. She made a lot of long international flights, between Korea and Europe, or between Korea and cities on the American continent. She fell ill in 2021. Doctors quickly diagnosed stomach cancer, at a very advanced stage, and eShe died a few months later, at the age of 53. DSince then, his loved ones have fought to try to have his death recognized as a real work accident.
A long battle for the entire profession
The Korean government agency therefore ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. She explains that we can make a direct link between the time spent working in the plane at high altitude and the radioactive doses which would have contaminated the flight attendant. She spent, on average, more than 1,000 hours in flight each year throughout her career, half of which were on long haul flights. During these long hauls, she very regularly took the routes above the North Pole, which are known to be more dangerous in terms of exposure to cosmic rays and therefore radioactivity. Scientists explain that cosmic rays strike strongest at the poles, and particularly when you are at altitude. In a plane, these rays are not attenuated by the Earth’s magnetic field which more or less protects the rest of the planet. So for the Korean agency, Song’s cancer was most likely caused by the frequency of these flights.
The airline does not agree with this diagnosis. PFor her, this cancer cannot be linked to the professional activity of her employee. It assured that it never exposed its flight crew to doses of radioactivity higher than legal standards. She therefore believes that the cancer is linked to other factors independent of her work.
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This explanation was not accepted andThe South Korean agency’s decision is seen as a victory by flight attendants. Some have been fighting for years to have the dangerousness of their work recognized. In 2018, a study, published in the scientific journal Environmental Health, found that the frequency of certain cancers was indeed higher among flight crew than in the rest of the population. This was particularly the case for breast and uterine cancers, gastrointestinal cancers and even thyroid cancer.