A French court has for the first time recognized cosmic radiation as a factor in a flight attendant's breast cancer, paving the way for similar claims. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.

Sophie Lainault, a 59-year-old former stewardess at Air France, sought to have her cancer recognized as an occupational disease caused by working conditions. The court in Bayonne granted her request, ruling that cosmic radiation was one of three carcinogenic hazards arising from her profession. The other two were passive smoking and prolonged night work.

Smoking was allowed on Air France flights until 2000. The decision allows Lainault, who is in remission, to take early retirement with any further treatment fully reimbursed by the French health system.

Lawyers say the ruling establishes breast cancer as an officially recognized risk for flight crews and clears the way for many other similar claims.

"My dearest wish is that the decision encourages other women who up until now have not had the courage to take this step," Lainault said.

Lainault worked as a stewardess and later purser on Air France aircraft, accumulating 12,600 flight hours between 1989 and 2019. More than half of these were at night.

Many long-distance high-altitude flights from Paris would have taken her near the North Pole, where exposure to radiation from space – strictly speaking particles from the sun and other stars – is the most intense.

A study this month at Harvard Medical School found that flight attendants and pilots had the highest level of radiation-related cancer deaths among more than 500 different professions. About 6.9% of deaths among flight attendants and 6.7% among pilots were from radiation-related cancers, according to the analysis.

These proportions were higher than for other professions including nuclear technologists, who are routinely exposed to radiation from non-cosmic sources yet placed 12th on the list, the authors said.

It has long been known that air travel at high altitudes exposes people to cosmic radiation, but the dose for most travellers is regarded as statistically insignificant. Exposure at the poles is more intense because elsewhere the earth's magnetic field acts as a shield.

"In France the link between breast cancer and certain hazards has been established for a number of professions, such as nurses … but this is the first time for an air-hostess," said Lainault's lawyer Elisabeth Leroux.

Air France said it had played no part in Lainault's legal case and had not seen the reasoning behind the court's decision. "The health and security of our staff is an absolute imperative," it said. "Every employee has a medical accompaniment that goes well beyond the regulatory minimum."

At least 180 aircrew pursuing MoD after cancer diagnoses.