ASSESSMENT OF AWARENESS OF RADIATION HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH AIR TRAVEL AMONG AIR TRAVEL USERS IN ENUGU METROPOLIS

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page………………………………………………………………….i

Dedication…………………………………………………………………ii

Approval page…………………………………………………………….iii

Certification……………………………………………………………….iv

Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………v

Table of contents…………………………………………………………..vi

List of tables……………………………………………………………….vii

List of figures………………………………………………………………viii

Abstract…………………………………………………………………….ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1: Background of study………………………………………………….

1.2: Statement of Problem…………………………………………………

1.3: General objective of study……………………………………………

1.3.1: Specific objectives of study…………………………………………

1.4: Significance of study………………………………………………….

1.5: Scope of study…………………………………………………………

1.6: Working Hypothesis ………………………………………..

1.7: Operational definition of terms………………………………………….

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1: Review of Related Literature……………………………………….

2.2: Theoretical Base of Study…………………………………………..

2.2.1: Radiation…………………………………………………………

2.2.1.1: Ionising Radiation……………………………………………..

2.2.1.2: Non-ionising Radiation…………………………………………

2.2.2: Background Radiation…………………………………………..

2.2.2.1: History of Cosmic Rays………………………………………….

2.2.2.2: Particles in Cosmic Rays………………………………………….

2.2.2.3: Factors Affecting The Level of Cosmic Radiation………………

2.2.2.4: Effects of Cosmic Rays………………………………………….

2.2.2.5: Health Effects of Cosmic Radiation…………………………….

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1: Research Design…………………………………………………..

3.2: Target Population…………………………………………………

3.2.1: Inclusion Criteria………………………………………………..

3.2.2: Exclusion Criteria……………………………………………….

3.3: Sample size and Sampling Technique……………………………

3.4: Sources of data……………………………………………………

3.4.1: Instrument of Data collection…………………………………….

3.5: Questionnaire Description……………………………………………

3.6: Method of Data Analysis………………………………………………

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS

4.1: Data presentation…………………………………………………….

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS OF RESULTS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1: Discussion and Implications of results……………………………….

5.1.1: Background characteristics of the respondents…………………….

5.1.2: Objective 1(To access the respondents knowledge of cosmic radiation and any possible misconception)……………………………………………………

5.1.3: Objective 2 (To ascertain the awareness of air travel users that increased dose of cosmic radiation constitutes health risks)………………………………..

5.1.4: Hypothesis 1 (Awareness of the health implications of frequent flying significantly affects the rate of flying)………………………………………..

5.1.5: Hypothesis 2 (The level of education significantly influences awareness of the phenomena of cosmic radiation and the attendant health risks associated with its increased cumulative dose)……………………………………………………

5.2: Conclusion………………………………………………………………..

5.3: Recommendations…………………………………………………………

5.4:Limitations of Study………………………………………………………

5.5: Areas for Further Research………………………………………………..

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Respondents’ gender distribution

Table 2: Respondents’ age distribution

Table 3: Level of Education of the respondents

Table 4: Basic knowledge of cosmic radiation

Table 5: Respondents’ knowledge of increased dose of cosmic radiation as a health  risk

Table 6: Hypothesis 1(Awareness of the health implications of frequent flying significantly affects the rate of flying)

Table 7: Chi square test of hypothesis 1

Table 8: Hypothesis 2 (The level of education significantly influences awareness of the phenomena of cosmic radiation and the attendant health risks associated with its increased cumulative dose).

Table 9: Chi square test of hypothesis 2

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 1: Pie chart representing the respondents’ knowledge of cosmic radiation.

Fig 2: Pie chart representing the respondents’ misconceptions of cosmic radiation.

ABSTRACT

Aim:To determine the level of awareness of the passengers of aircrafts on the health hazards associated with air travel in the AkanuIbiam Airport, Enugu where the research was carried out.

The study also sought to determine the relationship between the respondents’ level of education and their awareness of the health hazards associated with increased cosmic radiation dose.

Finally, the researcher sought to determine the relationship between the respondents’ knowledge of the health risks associated with air travel and their rate of flying.

Method: A cross sectional perspective study of passengers in the AkanuIbiam Airport, Enugu. Participants were adults (18 years and above) comprising of 61 males (67%) and 30 females (33%) with mean age of 31.5+12.22 years. 91 passengers were randomly selected. A 15-item questionnaire was used for data collection. The study lasted for three months.

Result:91 respondents were studied, results from the study revealed that about 67% of the interviewed passengers didn’t even know what cosmic radiation is, talk more of knowing the health implications of its increased dose- which is obtainable with frequent long distance flights.

Also, it was found that although a vast majority of the respondents have attained or are at the tertiary level of education (about 95%), most of them did not know what cosmic radiation is nor did they know the health implications of its increased dose on humans.

Finally, it was discovered that those of the respondents who knew about cosmic radiation (about 33%) of the respondents got this information especially from the media while some got the information from seminars.

Conclusion:This study reveals the awareness level of the health implications of cosmic radiation among passengers in the Enugu Airport which will aid the relevant agencies responsible for public health by providing a reliable information base with which to further enlighten the masses on the possible health implications of cosmic radiation.

It is therefore advised that the relevant agencies-Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), The Nigerian Aviation Ministry and other agencies employ the media in much same way as the Ministry of Health does in the issue of HIV/AIDS, Malaria to sensitize the general public about the effects of cosmic radiation.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1: BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Centuries of dreaming, study, speculation, and experimentation preceded the first successful flight. The ancient legends contain numerous references to the possibility of movement through the air. Philosophers believed that it could be accomplished by imitating the wing motions of birds, and by using smoke or other lighter-than-air media ¹. The first form of aircraft made was the kite, about the 5th century bc. In the 13th century, the English monk Roger Bacon conducted studies that led him to the conclusion that air could support a craft in the same manner that water supports boats. At the beginning of the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci^1,2 gathered data on the flight of birds and anticipated developments that subsequently became practical. Among his important contributions to the development of aviation were his invention of the airscrew, or propeller, and the parachute. He conceived three different types of heavier-than-air craft: an ornithopter, a machine with mechanical wings designed to flap like those of a bird; a helicopter, designed to rise by the revolving of a rotor on a vertical axis; and a glider, consisting of a wing fixed to a frame on which a person might coast on the air. Leonardo’s concepts involved the use of human muscular power, quite inadequate to produce flight with the craft that he pictured. Nevertheless, he was important because he was the first to make scientific proposals.

The practical development of aviation took various paths during the 19th century, especially through the Wright brothers who pioneered the first flight ^1,2. Since then, improvements have been continually made resulting to the present Boeing787 aircraft with a passenger capacity of about 250. But as we know that every good thing has its disadvantages, aviation also has its down sides which include but are not limited to Air crashes, flight- induced illnesses and above normal exposure to cosmic radiation- which we shall focus on in this study.

People are exposed to low doses of radiation almost every day of their lives; from the use of X-ray based equipment for the early diagnosis of disease ⁷, to radiation workers who make use of radiation equipments in industries; mobile phone users, to patients in the radiology department and frequent fliers who receive higher doses of radiation than infrequent fliers⁷.

Ionizing radiation, such as X-rays, has proved to be a double-edged sword since its discovery in 1895. Radiation is a potent mutagen (meaning it can alter genetic activity) and a carcinogen (a cancer-causing agent); however, it is also used in the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases.

Background radiation, or radiation levels in the environment, consists of cosmic radiation and radiation emitted from radioactive substances present in the ground and commercial sources ⁷. Thus, all living organisms are constantly receiving background radiation.

Cosmic radiation is also a form of ionizing radiation and it consists primary particles (protons, electrons, alpha particles and other heavy ions) and secondary particles (neutrons). Cosmic radiation contributes to about 13 percent of natural background radiation level which is about 1 mSv per year ⁸. In contrast to radiation workers in nuclear industry or patients receiving diagnostic procedures who primarily receive x-rays or gamma-rays, the air crews, pilots, and frequent flyers receive radiation doses in which about 50 percent is from neutron radiation. Research has shown that neutron radiation is more damaging than x-rays or gamma-rays. The dose rate in the aircraft flying at high altitude is about 0.005 mSv/ hour. A frequent flyer travelling around 100 hours per year would receive an additional dose of about 0.5mSv.

1.2: Statement of Problem

• The awareness by the masses especially air travel users on the phenomena of cosmic radiation and its attendant health risks have not been well researched in our environment.
• Cosmic radiation dose increases as one gets closer to the sun via airplanes and spaceships and this is more pronounced in frequent flyers⁸.

• Researchers estimate that the cosmic radiation dose is increasing- to a level above the normal dose- because the period of high solar magnetic activity known as the grand solar maximum- which had hitherto protected the earth from the adverse effects of cosmic radiation- is now apparently coming to an end⁸.

1.3: General Objective of Study

• The main aim of this study is to ascertain the level of awareness of air travel users in Enugu metropolis on the radiation hazards associated with air travel.

  1.3.1: Specific Objective of Study

• To determine the masses awareness of the presence of cosmic radiation in outer space.
• To ascertain the awareness of the masses- especially air travel users that increased cosmic radiation dose constitutes health risks.

.

   1.4: Significance of Study

• This work has researched the negative effects of increased dose of cosmic radiation on air travelers.
• The work has provided reliable information that will help educate the general public especially airplane users on the side effects of radiation emitted from outer space which increases as one gets nearer the sun.

1.5:  Scope of Study

• This study was carried out in AkanuIbiamAirport, Emene, Enugu state and it lasted for a period of three months.

1.6: Hypothesis

• Awareness of the health implications of frequent flying significantly affects the rate of flying.
• The level of education significantly influences awareness of the phenomena of cosmic radiation and significantly affects awareness of the health hazards associated with increased dose of cosmic radiation.

 1.7: Operational Definition of Terms

• Cosmic Rays:These are energetic charged subatomic particles originating in outer space³.
• Radiation Therapy: This refers to the treatment of diseases using radiation. This radiation might be from an external source (teletherapy) or emitted by a radioactive source implanted into the body of the patient (brachytherapy) ³.
• Sievert: This refers to the unit with which the effect(s) of radiation is measured⁵.
• Radionuclide: A radioactive nuclide³.
• Astronaut: One trained to travel and perform tasks in space³.
• Magnetosphere: This refers to the region surrounding the earth, in which charged particles are trapped and affected by the earth’s magnetic field ^2,3.
• Cross Sectional Study: A study in which a sample of the target population which represents all or most of the entire population is assessed and each aspect is given their comparative importance³.

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