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Cancer Cluster Possibly Found Among TSA Workers

OverTheGeicoE writes "TSA employees at Logan International Airport believe they have identified a cancer cluster in their ranks, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and released by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. They have requested dosimetry to counter 'TSA's improperly non-monitored radiation threat.' So far, at least, they have not received it. The documents also reveal a paper from Johns Hopkins that essentially questions whether it is even safe to stand near an operating scanner, let alone inside one. Also, the National Institute of Standards and Technology says that the Dept. of Homeland Security 'mischaracterized' their work by telling USA Today that NIST affirmed the safety of the scanners when in fact NIST does not do product safety testing and never tested a scanner for safety."

3 of 487 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What's a Cancer Cluster? by GungaDan · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not sure if trolling...

    A cancer cluster is a geographic or demographic grouping in which cancer is found to occur at higher than expected (or "normal") levels.

    --
    Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
  2. Re:Would somebody declare a War on Supidity? by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 5, Informative

    There's one piece of the puzzle that you're missing.

    The company that the TSA is buying these scanners from is run by a former head of the TSA.

  3. Re:Would somebody declare a War on Supidity? by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 5, Informative

    My mistake. He doesn't run the company that makes them.

    He runs a security consulting group, and one of his client companies makes them.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123102821.html