Of Course They're Safe!
The TSA claims their scanners are perfectly safe, and the documentation to back that up is...backed up, and has been for two months since lawmakers asked for it...two months with millions of people going through those scanners on the assurances of the nimrods looking for tweezers instead of terrorists. Alison Young writes for USA Today:
...The TSA has yet to release radiation inspection reports for its X-ray equipment -- two months after lawmakers called for them to be made public following USA TODAY's requests to review the reports.TSA spokesman Kristin Lee says that the agency is still trying to ensure that the reports don't contain any "sensitive security or privacy-protected information" and that she expects they will be released "within the next few weeks."
...Fueling concerns about the potential for scanner malfunctions and the TSA's ability to identify problems: a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found the TSA and its contractors had failed in the past to detect when some baggage X-ray machines were emitting excessive levels of radiation or had safety features that were missing or disabled. The TSA says that it has made improvements since then and that all of its X-ray scanners -- for people and luggage -- have passed recent inspections by contractors. The agency in January asked the CDC to repeat its luggage X-ray study "to confirm the progress TSA has made," Lee says.
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is investigating the adequacy of the TSA's X-ray inspection program at the request of Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Markey spokeswoman Giselle Barry says. TSA Administrator John Pistole told Markey in a January letter that there have been no full-body scanner malfunctions that resulted in "an actual or potential additional radiation exposure."
Yeah. That we know of.
And here's some recent pat-down fun. "Stay classy, TSA!"
What hypocrisy! Here the government can stall and even possibly fudge the facts with little impunity. Yet if a Popsicle stand wanted to open it would have to submit environmental impact studies, affirmative actions plans, nutrition outlines and ways to combat obesity in children, and certified testing of the the Popsicle sticks to make sure they contain not lead BEFORE the even sold one Popsicle.
Yet the government does not have to do it until they need to do it.
John Paulson at February 13, 2011 7:35 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/02/13/of_course_theyr.html#comment-1843325">comment from John PaulsonExactly, John Paulson. Government claims to protect you from everything...but for sure does not protect you from itself.
Amy Alkon at February 13, 2011 7:44 AM
So if it turns out that TSA is knowingly exposing people to dangerous levels/types of radiation while insisting it's all safe, are the clowns in DC going to actually DO anything about it? Like prosecute the TSA idiots in charge of this for their actions?
Firehand at February 13, 2011 7:55 AM
When I was a child, children's shoe stores had x-ray machines to determine that a shoe was the correct size. The child would put on a pair of shoes, put his feet in a slot, the machine would be turned on, the parent or child would look into a view finder, and the bones of the feet and the edge of the shoe were clearly visible.
Of course, these machines were "perfectly safe" until they were found not to be safe. The machines were around for about a year or so when they were taken out of general circulation, never to be seen again.
I have never seen a story about these machines. Everyone seems to have forgotten they did exist.
Nick at February 13, 2011 8:31 AM
Damn Nick how old are you? I have heard about those machines and even seen some pictures of them. I thought they went out of use in the early 50's.
John Paulson at February 13, 2011 9:01 AM
Funny story about that... I recall that in the 1970s, JC Penney had machines in some of their stores that measured your shoe size. It worked by moving a set of metal bars against your feet to measure the length and width, and then your shoe size and width appeared on set of gauges. The machines had "NOT AN X-RAY" printed in big letters on them, but despite that, most people refused to use them. I thought they were cool, though.
Cousin Dave at February 13, 2011 9:58 AM
To drift the topic further, New Balance have a computerized pressure pad you stand on, and it shows you how your weight is distributed on your feet.
brian at February 13, 2011 1:18 PM
The day I believe they are safe long or short term is the day they require the TSA to wear dosimeter badges and have Geiger counter mounted next to the scanners.
Jim P. at February 13, 2011 7:48 PM
Have any of you studied how the scanners work yet?
Radwaste at February 14, 2011 2:20 PM
Doesn't matter. They don't do what they were bought to do (detect explosives). They shouldn't be there anyhow. If it takes a lie to get rid of them, I'm fine with it.
I want my money back, I don't want it spent trying to justify a purchase that should never have been made.
brian at February 14, 2011 4:45 PM
>Jim P.
>Have any of you studied how the scanners work yet?
If you're talking about Z backscatter machines, it's not that complicated. Old school medical X-rays shine right through things, such as human tissue. You get a picture that is lighter or darker based on the composition and density of what the rays pass through. We've used this technique since the late 1800's. We know that ionizing radiation is bad for you, so we limit human exposure to very small amounts for special purposes.
The new backscatter machines are a little different. They still use X-rays, but they are intended to bounce back off the target, not pass through it. Thus your sensor and emitter can both be on the same side of the target.
The "Z" part is just scientific shorthand for the atomic number of a material. Items with a low Z include organic materials, drugs, and many explosives. These tend to backscatter well and give you a stronger (brighter) reflection.
High Z items include items like lead, steel, and many radioactive elements. These things tend to give a weak (dark) reflection.
Thus you have a system that can in fact look through clothes and see you naked, and see what you're carrying.
There is a slight problem in that you are still being exposed to ionizing radiation, and we don't have anything resembling a consensus in the medical community about about the overall safety of exposing this many people to this much radiation.
Since neither the operators nor the subjects wear dosimeters there is no routine way to know what dose you get. We will probably see Rapiscan operators submitting medical claims in the decades to come, however they will have no real evidence to back their claims one way or the other. In the meantime the manufacturers say that you'll be just fine if you stand in front of their machines, and that's what we're currently going by.
kenmce at February 15, 2011 7:42 PM
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