The TSA is in full defensive P.R. mode because maintenance records of its full-body X-ray scanners, conducted by employees of the very company that manufactures them, indicated that some of the machines were releasing radiation levels ten times higher than expected.
You can read more here in USA Today.
From the article:
The TSA is responsible for the safety of its own X-ray devices. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it does not routinely inspect airport X-ray machines because they are not considered medical devices. The TSA's airport scanners are exempt from state radiation inspections because they belong to a federal agency.
The official TSA bloggers claim here that everything will be just fine once those engineers, the ones responsible for the testing of the machines, are "retrained." Besides, there's radiation everywhere and ten times as much of it would still be perfectly safe.
So the engineers who conducted the tests allegedly made basic math mistakes and will be retrained. Reassured yet?
As David Rowell, The Travel Insider, writes here, "The most puzzling part of this is why a society with a massive aversion upon discovering even the slightest suggestion of lead, mercury and asbestos being present somewhere where people have lived safely healthily and happily for decades; will then voluntarily allow itself to be irradiated in an uncontrolled environment, particularly when the dose of radiation serves no good purpose in terms of detecting anything concealed on your person."
Reassured yet? We're not and we'll continue to "opt out."
Those TSA X-Ray Scanners: Math Mistakes Or More Radiation?
Kathy and Brian
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Kathy and Brian
Two retired educators alternating joyfully between seeing the world and enjoying our eight grandchildren (in order of birth), Jake, Avery, Taegan, Lily, Peyton, Riley, Blane, and Jace.
Kathy and Brian met in the clarinet section of the University of California (Santa Barbara) Symphony Orchestra several decades ago.
Brian's Western Canadian roots and Kathy's Colorado ties resulted in their making beautiful music together along with producing a cross-border crop of descendants.
Kathy spent a year studying in Vienna at the Institute for European Studies and the University of Vienna.
Brian started the school band program in Hope, British Columbia, and later became the high school's vice-principal for 6 years and subsequently principal for 15 years before retiring in 2001.
Kathy, in between raising our three children, taught kindergarten and first grade, middle school, and high school - mathematics, computer studies, ESL, and her first love, band, before retiring in 2001.
We enjoy sharing our travel experiences and providing the odd travel tip to friends, relatives, and visitors.
I can see that you're as upset by these "security" procedures as we all are over at Boycott Flying ... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Flying/126801010710392
We would be happy to have you join us. If we can't stop these procedures soon, TSA/DHS has plans to deploy them at cruise lines, bus stations, rail stations, subway stations, sporting events, shopping malls and even our children's schools. We soon won't be able to go anywhere without having an x-ray first.