Current science issues and contemporary developments

¶ … Body Scanners: Are They Safe?

Articles discussed:

Tanner, Lindsay, (November 18, 2010). "Gov't says full body scanners are safe." USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/cancer/2010-11-18-scanner-radiation_N.htm. (Accessed 30 November, 2010)

There has been much debate over the Transportation Security Administration's airport security procedures due to the holiday travel season. Most of the recent debate has involved the invasiveness of the full-body pat down, or the detailed nature of the images taken by the new full-body scanners. But as these scanners begin to appear in more and more airports, we also need to make sure the scanners are safe for the people who pass through them, since they emit radiation.

The government insists that the new devices are indeed safe. Tanner, writing for USA Today, that a panel of independent experts has vouched for the safety of these devices, saying that they are not a threat as long as the radiation is kept within the recommended limits. She notes "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 (November 2010)." According to the TSA, a person would have to go through one of those scanners more than a 1000 times a year to get a dangerous dose of radiation, something that even pilots do not do. As Stephens notes in the Examiner, "Back to x-rays, there's no reason to dispute the FDA and body scanner manufacturers' claims that it's equivalent to a 2-4-minute extension of your flight. When exposed, you are, after all, headed for an airplane and cheerfully exposing yourself to a considerably larger dose than if you stayed here."

Still, there are some concerns among scientists. One concern is about the potential failure of one of the machines. A scientist in the article points out that the machines are operated by TSA agents and not medical professionals, so they may not be aware when something is going wrong. The radiation exposure in real-world use thus may be different than in a laboratory setting. Another scientist cites concerns that "Though the scanner images do not reveal what's beneath the skin's surface, the radiation they emit could potentially affect breast tissue, sex organs and eyes." Other scientists have faulted the government for not doing any testing on animals, even though such testing is not mandated by the FDA. A group of concerned scientists from the University of California San Francisco even wrote a letter to this effect to the White House, but they only received a form letter in reply.