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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."
If you can't beat the system from without, beat it from within. We should throw as much support as possible behind this - get some lawyers in there, get some reporters over there, do whatever we can.
But you see, security devices aren't regulated. Medical devices are regulated, but security devices aren't medical devices. Says so right on the label. Just take our word for it that this is safe.
I suppose it's time to get comfortable with the idea of intimate relations with TSA screeners. It wouldn't be so bad but for the lack of choice in who does the screening, the lack of cuddling afterwards and total absence of a commitment. It just makes the whole ordeal seem so tawdry.
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
Even if you bought into the bullshit about the scanners being safe (despite little or no testing), doesn't it seem a little obvious that something was up when they wouldn't let TSA employees were those little radiation badges that change color to indicate when you've had too much exposure?
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!
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.
Technoli
We need random TSA screenings in and out of congress and senate.
No exceptions, everyone could be a danger to the legislative branch, the best we can do is a fast line for senators and congressmen but the shoes have to come off.
Load New Commander (Y/N)?
As a frequent flyer it is fairly easy to avoid the scanners. Many smaller airports don't have them, and they are too slow for the majority of larger ones and are often turned off or majority of people waved around. Over time you learn where the scanners will not be used. The sad part is most TSA agents are normal people that need a job. They are forced to stand near devices that may be safe if operating properly, but over time normal wear and tear will increase the exposure. As is normal with a slow acting, long term effect problem, owned by the government, it won't be acknowledged until the majority of victims are dead. Like nuclear submarines, have the TSA agents where dosimeter badges every day for a year. Lets see if there is a problem.
The safety tests are being performed as I type, using passengers as test subjects. In 10 to 20 years we should have some good data about long term irradiation of people with these expensive security placebos.
Ask yourself this question: Would you rather have Freedom or Security?
I choose freedom. Unfortunately I can't choose often enough because the majority in the US vote for Security, then act surprised when they lose Freedom.
It's predictable though that no one likes the goons. The tragedy is they won't have any hate left over for former DHS head Michael Chertoff who got them into the mess by lobbying for this scanner boondoggle. Of course the fact he made millions off them is completely irrelevant.
No, it's a group of people born in late June or the first two-thirds of July.
Living increases the risk of dying.
Yeah, cos obviously Obama hasn't had enough time in office to do anything about the TSA......
Normal people worry me!
Allow me. http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/01/airport-scanner-scam.
I'll be honest, we're throwing science against the wall to see what sticks. -Cave Johnson
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
Technoli
wouldn't you think that someone that was the former head of a government security agency might know a bit about the needs of that agency and be able to start a company that can provide for those needs?
No, not particularly. Maybe a lead engineer, but not the paper-pusher at the top. He can be expected to know exactly what papers to push to convince the agency buy something though.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
in general they too loath what they have to do as a part of their job
Sorry, but I feel no sympathy for them. The TSA officers who stand around groping people are not contributing anything of value to society, and deserve more scorn than they receive. We are talking about people who signed up to grope children, harass elderly women, and generally undermine whatever dignity America citizens had left.
Palm trees and 8
Some decades ago, X-ray machines were common. So common that you could go into a department store and get an X-ray to see how well your new shoes fit. Doctors routinely used continuous X-ray scanners (fluoroscopes) with dosages much higher and for much longer durations.
Once people started to suspect that X-rays could cause cancer, it was straightforward to find out. Not trivial, but straightforward. Follow a lot of people and look for a correlation between exposure and cancer. Lo and behold, there is an effect.
Once the effects were measured we could compare risks. One of the results was that the risk due to undiagnosed dental problems is far greater than the risk of cancer from an X-ray, so dental X-rays are a good trade-off.
Fast forward to modern times and we have scanners. There is no evidence to suggest that these devices are safe, or unsafe. The manufacturer has a *model* of what should happen with the dosages, and the consensus of opinion is that the devices are safe... except that the result is based on the model, not evidence. Pick different assumptions to get a different model and there may be a risk.
Some assumptions about the new technology are: a) The manufacturer is correctly reporting dosage, b) The radiation is blocked by the skin (or in reverse, the effects will concentrate in the skin), c) Exposures below a certain threshold pose no risk (versus, any exposure causes proportional risk)
To put this in perspective, it's instructional to look at the history of MRI machines. Despite the fact that there is no known mechanism for magnetic fields interacting with the body and causing problems (notwithstanding metal implants &c), the FDA cautiously required progressive testing of the machines before they were deployed for common use.
I approve of this sort of thing. It's one thing to believe that magnetic fields have no effect, but it's important to test things out before you try them on, for example, pregnant women.
In summary, there has been no testing of the TSA scanners whatsoever. Their entire claim to safety rests on their belief that they know how the radiation will affect living tissue, but they cannot back that up with evidence.
They are not scientists, and they have side-stepped the normal medical safety certification process that we take for granted.
Scientists make conclusions based on evidence, politicians make conclusions based on models.