TSA says scans are safe....

They look a little like giant refrigerators and pack a radiation dose big enough to peer through clothing for bombs or weapons, yet too minuscule to be harmful, federal officials insist. As the government rolls out hundreds more full-body scanners at airports just in time for crowds of holiday travelers, it is working to reassure the public that the machines are safe.

An independent group of experts agrees, as long as radiation doses are kept within the low limits set for the scanners. Still, a few scientists worry that machines might malfunction, raising the risk of cancer.

The Transportation Security Administration says radiation from one scan is about the same as a person would get from flying for about three minutes in an airplane at 30,000 feet, where atmospheric radiation levels are higher than on the ground. That amount is vastly lower than a single dental X-ray.

You would have to go through scanners more than 1,000 times in one year to even meet the maximum recommended level -- and even pilots don't do that.'

http://mobile.salon.com/news/feature/2010/11/18/us_med_airport_scanners_safety/index.html


So my question would be... if this is so safe, if there is nothing to worry about.... then why offer an opt out? There was never an opt out of the metal detectors.

This is fucking bullshit and something must be done.

have the option not to do them

Is this how they are going to avoid lawsuits?

grope.

now they are being called out on both.

The next time I fly, I'll opt for groping.

After all, the Bush administration's very own EPA said so! All those first responders who died or are now suffering from a variety of lung ailments are just a bunch of whiners.

I'm glad I fly about once a year, and hopefully much of this nonsense will be sorted out before I have to fly again.

medical care because Republicans thought that foreign corporations should be allowed to keep their tax loopholes. Would have made a great election ad.

After all, just because the people who jumped into the catastrophe while the President was flying around like a scared rabbit are dying, there's no reason to make a political thing out of it. Let's just let them die peacefully (or whatever), and refrain from holding anyone accountable, particularly anyone who might make hefty campaign contributions to Republican candidates. That would be oh so very wrong, so say the Republicans, and the Democrats agree.

but where is the evidence that flying gives you doses of radiation that can cause cancer?

Their well trained (but low paid) operators will know when their machines are malfunctioning.

Twenty years from now there will be advertisements on TV.

If you have developed numerous skin cancers and you ever had to go through a full-body scanner, please contact the law firm of Munch & Munch for a free evaluation of your possible rights to receive financial assistance from a full-body scanner lawsuit.

Otherwise you can just drive.

After all, shouldn't they be subjected to the same rules? Shouldn't Obama have to watch as his daughters are felt up by TSA in the name of security? What about Chelsea Clinton, shouldn't she get the same treatment?

Sorry, but nobody should have to sacrifice basic human dignity to travel, period. The fact that so many people are willing to accept this simply means that Osama and his buddies have won.

I've never flown anywhere that I could reasonably drive. And I fly at least twice a year.

Granted, one that was designed to look into packages and other such inanimate objects, but the fact of the matter is that they put out a pretty large dose of radiation. I'm sure that they modified the machine designed to look at humans so that it wouldn't put out as much radiation, but given the detail and quality of the images I've seen, they probably haven't lessened the dosage that much.

Having working in the nuclear field for a number of years, I'm wary of picking up any more dosage than absolutely necessary, ie dental and medical X-rays only. I will not put myself through one of these scanners, and since I'm not willing to subject myself to sexual harassment that the TSA is referring to as a "pat down", I'm not flying. That's fine with me. It means that I'm helping save the environment and getting to see the beauty of our world at a slower pace and from ground level.

I agree, it's not cool.

Some comedian once said, "The lottery may be a tax on the stupid, but I can't help noticing that someone wins every week."

I've heard the number "1 in 30,000,000" tossed around as the odds that a TSA scanner will give you fatal cancer. According to the FDA, the number is 1 in 80 million. That's the number that the TSA likes to cite when they claim it's safe.

According to the Bureau of Transportation statistics (yep, that's a real agency), there were 703.8 million "enplanements" in 2009 in the U.S. That's 703.8 million individuals boarding aircraft.

According to the numbers offered up by physicists, if the TSA were to scan every one of those passengers, there is a statistical chance that they'll cause fatal cancer in 24 people a year. According to the TSA's numbers, they may cause fatal cancer in 9 people a year.

And remember that the FDA numbers are based on FATAL cancer probabilities. The odds of getting a curable cancer are even higher.

The TSA says that those numbers are "safe", but remember...someone always wins the lottery. Do you really want to play?

Of course, we're still talking about statistical probabilities, but "dead people" tends to resonate better than astronomical numbers.

But honestly? I think the whole thing is for show, or maybe to find the people with a bag of weed in their pocket.

;-)