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TSA Puts Off Safety Study of X-ray Body Scanners

Posted by samzenpus on from the we'll-get-to-it-later dept.

zokuga writes "ProPublica reports that the TSA is backing off a previous promise to conduct a new independent study of X-ray body scanners used at airport security lanes around the country. Earlier this month, an investigation found that TSA had glossed over research about the risks from the X-rays."

5 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. meanwhile, Europe bans the farking things. by crowlogic · · Score: 5, Informative

    meanwhile, Europe bans them. A lot smarter than these fools running the US, g*d damn them. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=europe-bans-x-ray-body-scanners

  2. Shocking by itchythebear · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'll have to find some sources, but didn't they refuse to allow the TSA employees to wear radiation exposure badges or something like that? (To determine if they were being over exposed)

    They probably don't need to do any studies on if the scanners are safe or not, seems like they already know the answer.

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  3. Re:Small risk by MadCow42 · · Score: 5, Informative

    >> I wonder if anyone is up for conducting a large-scale clinical trial to show the low-level employees that these devices are hazardous and that they too should be against them.

    You mean based on reports like this?

    http://news.slashdot.org/story/11/06/27/2012226/Cancer-Cluster-Possibly-Found-Among-TSA-Workers

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  4. Re:And we're surprised by this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    What cost? Ionizing radiation is bad for you. There, no charge. When there's a benefit, then the risk may be justified, such as in medical applications, but security theater is not a good enough reason for exposing people to ionizing radiation.

  5. I fly for business about every other week by Gordo_1 · · Score: 5, Informative

    And yet in all the months I've been running into these damn X-ray machines, I think I've only seen one other person opt out in favor of a pat down/groping session.

    The rest of this country seems to be full of sheep.