Bill Would Require Independent Study of X-Ray Body Scanners. Sen. Susan Collins is planning to introduce a bill that would require the TSA to conduct a new, independent health study of the X-ray body scanners used to screen airline passengers for explosives at airports. Transportation Security Administration agents screen passengers at Los Angeles International Airport on May 2, 2011. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the homeland security committee, plans to introduce a bill in the coming days that would require a new health study of the X-ray body scanners used to screen airline passengers nationwide. The Transportation Security Administration began using the machines for routine screening in 2009 and sped up deployment after the so-called underwear bomber tried to blow up a plane on Christmas Day of that year.
But the X-ray scanners have caused concerns because they emit low levels of ionizing radiation, a form of energy that has been shown to damage DNA and mutate genes, potentially leading to cancer. TSA Backscatter X-ray Backlash. Things are happening so fast that I don't know if I should bother. But here are some links and observations. The head of the Allied Pilots Association is telling its members to avoid both the full body scanners and the patdowns. This first-hand report, from a man who refused to fly rather than subject himself to a full-body scan or an enhanced patdown, has been making the rounds. (The TSA is now investigating him.)
It reminds me of Penn Jillette's story from 2002. A woman has a horrific story of opting-out of the full body scanners. Sadly, I agree with this: It is no accident that women have been complaining about being pulled out of line because of their big breasts, having their bodies commented on by TSA officials, and getting inappropriate touching when selected for pat-downs for nearly 10 years now, but just this week it went viral.
Seems that once you enter airport security, you need to be subjected to it -- whether you decide to fly or not. Nor this story. And once as saying: FDA Responds to ProPublica Story on X-Ray Body Scanners. Editor’s Note: This week, the Food and Drug Administration sent us a letter, which we have posted below, taking issue with several passages in our story about airport body scanners. The letter generally takes semantic issue with how we presented specific facts. It does not, in our judgment, raise any issues of substance. Editor’s Note: This week, the Food and Drug Administration sent us a letter, which we have posted below, taking issue with several passages in our story about airport body scanners [1].
The letter generally takes semantic issue with how we presented specific facts. It does not, in our judgment, raise any issues of substance. For example, a section heading in our story stated that there has been little research on the cancer risks of body scanners. More broadly, the FDA takes issue with how we conveyed the cancer risk from the scanners. Separately, the agency asserts that we erred in stating, “The FDA does not review or approve the safety of such products.” TSA Body Scanners at Fort Lauderdale Airport Targeted by Broward Commission. The Broward Commission may request that the Transportation Security Administration go back to the old-school gropings pat-downs of passengers at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and ditch the use of body scanners. The item -- which was delayed from the last meeting -- would be a direction to the aviation director to send the request to the TSA asking that it not use the body scanners "until further studies can be done that will demonstrate that they are safe to the traveling public.
" According to the oh-so-loathed TSA, the "backscatter unit" that takes those nudie pics of you at airport security are perfectly safe already. The way the TSA compares it, "One backscatter technology scan produces the same exposure as two minutes of flying on an airplane. " In fact, the TSA's website hosts a boatload of documents proving the machines are safe. Still, most people aren't the biggest fans of the TSA. U.S. Government Glossed Over Cancer Concerns As It Rolled Out Airport X-Ray Scanners. A sign at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint instructs passengers about the use of the full-body scanner at O'Hare International Airport.
(Scott Olson/Getty Images) One after another, the experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration raised questions about the machine because it violated a longstanding principle in radiation safety — that humans shouldn’t be X-rayed unless there is a medical benefit. “I think this is really a slippery slope,” said Jill Lipoti, who was the director of New Jersey’s radiation protection program. The device was already deployed in prisons; what was next, she and others asked — courthouses, schools, airports? “I am concerned … with expanding this type of product for the traveling public,” said another panelist, Stanley Savic, the vice president for safety at a large electronics company. “I think that would take this thing to an entirely different level of public health risk.”
The machine’s inventor, Steven W. The U.S. Coffee, Tea or Cancer? Almost Half of Americans Oppose X-ray Body Scanners. A new Harris poll conducted for ProPublica shows that even if X-ray body scanners would prevent terrorists from smuggling explosives onto planes, 46 percent of Americans still oppose using them because they could cause a few people to eventually develop cancer. Travelers walk through the concourse at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images) Even if X-ray body scanners would prevent terrorists from smuggling explosives onto planes, nearly half of Americans still oppose using them because they could cause a few people to eventually develop cancer, according to a new Harris Interactive poll conducted online for ProPublica.
Slightly more than third of Americans supported using the scanners, while almost a fifth were unsure. The Transportation Security Administration plans to install body scanners, which can detect explosives and other objects hidden under clothing, at nearly every airport security lane in the country by the end of 2014. Senator Seeks Answers on X-Ray Body Scanners. In letters to the Transportation Security Administration, Senator Susan Collins asked why the agency backed off its promise to conduct a new safety study of the X-ray machines, and recommended larger signs to advise pregnant women they can request a pat-down instead. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins questioned the TSA over its decision to back away from a promise to study the health effects of airport body scanners.
(Getty Images file photo by Brendan Smialowski) The top Republican on the Senate homeland security committee is seeking answers after the head of the Transportation Security Administration backed off [1] a promise [2] to study the health effects of the X-ray body scanners used at airports. In a letter [3] sent Wednesday to TSA administrator John Pistole, Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she was “disappointed” to hear the news, especially after the European Commission prohibited [4] such scanners because of concerns that the radiation emitted by the machines could lead to cancer.
TSA to Conduct New Study of X-Ray Body Scanners. The head of the TSA testified today that the agency will perform a new, independent study on the safety of X-ray body scanners after senators at a hearing raised questions about a ProPublica investigation. Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole prepares to testify during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Nov. 2, 2011. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images) The head of the Transportation Security Administration testified today that the agency will perform a new, independent study on the safety of X-ray body scanners after lawmakers raised questions about a ProPublica investigation [1] at a Senate hearing on aviation security.
The story, researched in conjunction with the PBS NewsHour, reported that while the radiation emitted from the machines is extremely low, scientific studies have concluded that they could still increase the risk of cancer. Sen. Questioned about the story by Sen. Watch Airport X-ray Scanner Report on NewsHour. TSA Puts Off Safety Study of X-ray Body Scanners. After promising an independent evaluation of X-ray body scanners, the head of the TSA now says he’ll put it off pending an inspector general report on the machines. The head of the Transportation Security Administration has backed off a public commitment to conduct a new independent study of X-ray body scanners used at airport security lanes around the country. Earlier this month, a ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation found that the TSA had glossed over research [1] that the X-ray scanners could lead to a small number of cancer cases.
The scanners emit low levels of ionizing radiation, which has been shown to damage DNA. In addition, several safety reviewers who initially advised the government on the scanners said they had concerns about the machines being used, as they are today, on millions of airline passengers. At a Senate hearing after the story ran, TSA Administrator John Pistole agreed to a request by Sen. The TSA uses two types of body scanners [4]. Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Used at U.S. Airports. The European Union has prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners, which emit low levels of a type of radiation shown to cause cancer. The European Union on Monday prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners [1] 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.”
As a ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation detailed earlier this month [2], X-ray body scanners use ionizing radiation, a form of energy that has been shown to damage DNA and cause cancer. European countries will be allowed to use an alternative body scanner, on that relies on radio frequency waves, which have not been linked to cancer. The TSA would not comment specifically on the EU’s decision.