You Decide: TSA Full Body Scanners?
Monday, November 17, 2014
I'm not going to start this blog post by trying to instill fear in you. You get enough of that everyday from just about every source of information you come in contact with. Instead I'm just going to give you the information I've found and then ask you to simply decide for yourself. ***Please note this article is intended to share the information I found about the safety of the full body scan. It is in no way intended to argue for or against the topic of these machines invading our privacy.
The Story
This past weekend I was in line at the airport about to walk through the TSA full body scanner machines when an attractive woman in line behind me and myself were pulled out of line and placed in another line with the older metal detector scans. I didn't think much of it as they were only trying to move the line along quicker.
I went through and after gathering my belongings I started walking towards my gate. On the way the attractive lady came up from behind me and said "oh my gosh I'm glad we got to go through that machine instead of the other one." Immediately I jumped to the conclusion (shame on me) that she was a snobby woman who hated 'being violated' or something. Trying to remember my personal development reading I backed away from my assumption and asked her,"why don't you like them?"
We were both walking quickly and she mentioned them being banned in Europe and how the radiation goes deep in your skin and how it is more harmful then we think. I replied, "wow I had no idea," thanked her for her insight, and we parted ways. Could she be right? Did we elude a dangerous scan or was she misinformed?
Investigation
Since it seems Europe and many other countries are 'ahead of the curve' when dealing with their people's well being I decided to start there. Here's what found from some basic googling.
[The European Union on Monday (2011) prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners in European airports, parting ways with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which has deployed hundreds of the scanners as a way to screen millions of airline passengers for explosives hidden under clothing. The European Commission, which enforces common policies of the EU's 27 member countries, adopted the rule “in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety.] (1)
So 1) I noticed this was an old article, 2011; and 2) Driving in a car jeopardizes my health and safety but the real question is, to what degree?
[As a ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation detailed earlier this month, X-ray body scanners use ionizing radiation, a form of energy that has been shown to damage DNA and cause cancer. Although the amount of radiation is extremely low, equivalent to the radiation a person would receive in a few minutes of flying, several research studies have concluded that a small number of cancer cases would result from scanning hundreds of millions of passengers a year.] (1)
Okay so as the article implies it's less radiation then what I'm about to get from just flying anyways but it's still enough to cause a few extra cases of cancer a year. I don't want to win that lottery. Counting on I read...
[TSA spokesman Mike McCarthy said, “As one of our many layers of security, TSA deploys the most advanced technology available to provide the best opportunity to detect dangerous items, such as explosives. We rigorously test our technology to ensure it meets our high detection and safety standards before it is placed in airports,” he continued. “Since January 2010, advanced imaging technology has detected more than 300 dangerous or illegal items on passengers in U.S. airports nationwide.] (1)
Well I don't really like Mr. McCarthy making this decsion for me and I have no idea what those safety standards actually entail but I'll admit I do agree with the decision. If it's between a few extra cases of cancer a year and stopping a plane from going down with hundreds of passengers I think the numbers speak for themselves.
So my next question is, do these machines actually put out harmful radiation or is someone just freaking out about all of this?
Moving On
Trying to dig a little deeper I cam across this...
[Backscatter X-ray uses ionizing radation, a known cumulative health hazard, to produce images of passengers bodies. Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with defective DNA repair mechanisms are considered to be especially susceptible to the type of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Also at high risk are those who have had, or currently have, skin cancer. Ionizing radiation's effects are cumulative, meaning that each time you are exposed you are adding to your risk of developing cancer. Since the dosage of radiation from the backscatter X-ray machines is absorbed almost entirely by the skin and tissue directly under the skin, averaging the dose over the whole body gives an inaccurate picture of the actual harm. In their letter of concern, the UCSF faculty members noted that "the dose to the skin could be dangerously high"(3). The eyes are particularly susceptible to the effect of radiation, and as one study found allowing the eyes to be exposed to radiation can lead to an increased incidence of cataracts.
Another type of device uses millimeter wave technology, which if improperly calibrated can cause burns. Less is known about the potential health risks of the millimeter wave devices than those of backscatter X-ray, and as with the backscatter devices, no independent testing has been conducted.] (2)
Conclusion
Assuming the lady I ran into at the airport didn't read the exact same articles I did it looks like she was right. It may be a good idea to avoid these scans until more research is done or a better method is invented. A scan may not be immediately harmful but any small actions done consistently over time always add up.
For me personally, I realize that thousands of people stand in these machines daily and I'm certainly not excited about getting into one of these machines. For me it would come down to how early I arrived at the airport. However, if I had my children, a pregnant wife, my parents or anyone with skin cancer though I would definitely make it a point to opt out.
***IMPORTANT*** There are signs posted (or should be) that say you can opt out of the scan by saying "I opt out" and have a security officer do a full pat down, or whatever they do so you do have an option.
Remember this is one decision among millions of others that can lead to cancer or bring harm to your body. In my opinion there is no black or white here just tons of shades of grey. If you eat McDonalds, drink soda everyday and love tanning beds you may want to review other life decisions you're making before bothering the TSA.
I hope you're able to take the information in this article, think about your principles and how you want to live and can go forth to life by your design
Resources
(1) http://www.propublica.org/article/europe-bans-x-ray-body-scanners-used-at-u.s.-airports(2) http://dontscan.us
(3) Letter of concern: http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf
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