JFK, LAX To Test Millimeter-Wave Scanners

Narrative Fallacy writes "The Transportation Security Administration has announced that it's beginning pilot tests of millimeter wave scanning technology at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) that allow TSA personnel to see concealed weapons and other items that may be hidden beneath clothes. TSA Administrator Kip Hawley says that that the potentially revealing body scans (YouTube) would not be stored and that 90% of passengers subject to secondary screening opt for a millimeter wave scan over a pat-down. The agency added that security officers viewing the scans would do so remotely, where they will not be able to recognize passengers but will be able to trigger an alarm if needed. The agency also said that a blurring algorithm is applied to passengers' faces in scanned images as an additional privacy protection."

Comments

Re:In use at London Heathrow, but...

[Wavebreak]

Repeat after me: radiation at low levels is not dangerous. You get far higher levels than anything caused by humans simply from natural background radiation, even considering medical x-rays (which give you a dose far beyond these things). It's everywhere, and it doesn't hurt you. In fact, the current thinking is that low levels of radiation can in fact make you healthier (see hormesis).