Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Over Cancer Worries; Will U.S. Follow?

[LL_Travelfan]

I came across this interesting article abou body scans. Here is a reprint of it.

Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Over Cancer Worries; Will U.S. Follow?
November 19, 2011 7:16 am by Caroline Morse

The European Union (E.U.) announced this week that it is banning the use of X-ray (a.k.a "back-scatter") body scanning machines over health concerns. Questions have been raised over the safety of using X-ray technology, which is believed to potentially increase a passenger's risk of cancer, as a means of passenger screening.

The European Commission, which wrote the report, states: "In order not to risk jeopardizing citizens' health and safety, only security scanners which do not use X-ray technology are added to the list of authorized methods for passenger screening at E.U. airports."

American airports, of course, use both X-ray scanners and millimeter wave scanners (the latter of which is not believed to pose any health risk). The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) maintains that both types of machines are safe.

So, to be clear: This doesn't mean that flying within Europe lets you avoid the naked body scanners, but it does mean you're less likely to be exposed to potentially harmful rays on your next European trip.

In the same ruling, the E.U. adopted new screening procedures for the millimeter wave body scanner machines, which are similar to guidelines used in the U.S. Specifically, images of bodies will not be saved, and passengers are allowed the choice of going through the body scanner or undergoing a pat-down.

But should we really trust the TSA to make health decisions for flyers? This is the same agency that a scathing congressional report recently condemned as "a bloated bureaucracy" responsible for more than 25,000 security breaches in the last decade.

The report, by the way, features chapters like "TSA's bloated Administration and Bureaucracy," "TSA's Personnel Failures," and "TSA's Aviation Security Failures." Call me a skeptic, but could it be that the TSA is reluctant to scrap these X-ray machines because it can't afford another costly failure like "wasting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds on failed [security] solutions" (another gem from the same report)?

Readers, what do you think? Should the U.S. follow the E.U. and completely switch to the millimeter wave scanners? Are even those scanners too invasive? And do you opt to get up close and personal with a TSA agent pat-down instead of going through a body scanner?

[jmbklj]

Yes, I saw that article. Here is another article, albeit a little older, dated March 2011, that says the scanner radiation is "trivial".

New Report Says Scanner Radiation Risk is 'Trivial' - SmarterTravel.com

Personally I think the jury is still out and its impact may not be truly known for a long time. Unless I am running late for a flight, I "opt out" of the scanner. Do I like the alternative - the groping? Heck no! But I've done it so many times now, that I'm used to it. I also like to keep my eyes on my personal possessions while going thru the TSA security checks and that is not possible when inside the scanner.

And here is a recent article, Nov 16th, stating that TSA is now putting off a safety study of the x-ray body scanners that they previously agreed to do.

TSA Puts Off Safety Study of X-ray Body Scanners - ProPublica

Another article asserting that the TSA has "glossed over" the scientific view that low doses of ionizing radiation can increase the ris of cancer.

U.S. Government Glossed Over Cancer Concerns As It Rolled Out Airport X-Ray Scanners - ProPublica

Some people are confused with the different types of machines - metal detector vs backscatter x-ray vs millimeter wave. And some don't know they can opt out of it. I've heard the backscatter referred to the "Nude-O-Scope".

http://nudeoscope.com/Brochure/5a.pdf

Here is a link that may be of interest to you when traveling to specific airports, where you can check to see if the airport uses the NoS (Nude-O-Scope). In some cases, it also indicates if only certain sides or security lanes use it, so then you can possibly know which lane to use to avoid them. There is an attempt to keep the list up-to-date. Unfortunately my home airport uses them; thus I'm getting to know my home airport TSA members more intimately.

Complete List of Airports with Whole Body Imaging/Advanced Imaging Technology Scanner - FlyerTalk Forums