Key facts
- A French court recognized cosmic radiation, passive smoking, and prolonged night work as contributing factors to breast cancer in a former flight attendant.
- Sophie Lainault, a former Air France flight attendant, successfully had her breast cancer recognized as an occupational disease.
- The ruling is the first in France to establish such a link for air hostesses.
- Lainault accumulated over 12,600 flight hours, including more than 6,500 at night, between 1989 and 2019.
- The decision allows Lainault to take early retirement and receive full reimbursement for future medical treatment.
A French court has issued a landmark ruling recognizing cosmic radiation as a contributing factor to breast cancer in a former Air France flight attendant. Sophie Lainault, 59, who worked as a stewardess and purser for 30 years, sought to have her cancer recognized as an occupational disease. The court in Bayonne confirmed that cosmic radiation, alongside passive smoking and prolonged night work, were carcinogenic hazards associated with her profession.
This decision is significant as it is the first time in France that such a link has been officially established for air hostesses. Lainault, who is now in remission, will be able to take early retirement with full reimbursement of any future medical treatment costs by the French health system. Her lawyer, Elisabeth Leroux, stated that this ruling could pave the way for numerous similar claims from other flight crews.
Lainault accumulated 12,600 flight hours between 1989 and 2019, with more than half of those flights occurring at night. Many of her long-distance, high-altitude flights would have taken her near the North Pole, an area with higher exposure to cosmic radiation. Air France stated that the health and safety of its staff are an absolute imperative and that employees receive medical support beyond regulatory minimums. Analysis cited in the report suggests that approximately 6.9% of deaths among flight attendants and 6.7% among pilots are from radiation-related cancers, a proportion higher than for some other professions routinely exposed to radiation.