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Boston Airport Replacing X-ray Body Scanners

Posted by Soulskill on from the we-have-all-kinds-of-light-waves-to-blast-you-with dept.

OverTheGeicoE writes "Boston's Logan International Airport is in the process of replacing its X-ray body scanners with millimeter-wave ones. According to the article, nine of the new scanners have been installed already, and ultimately 27 of these scanners will replace the 17 X-ray backscatter scanners that were installed in March of 2010. The new devices are 'being installed come with software that replaces "passenger-specific images" — or nearly naked views of travelers — with generic outlines that highlight only anomalies such as belts, jewelry, wallets — or guns or bombs.' Perhaps this will help TSA workers avoid being part of a cancer cluster. Some speculate that TSA will ultimately eliminate all of its X-ray body scanners."

8 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Who makes them? by Kenja · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is it the same company profiting by replacing their old useless hardware with the new?

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  2. Re:Interesting by TheSpoom · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that a bomb or are you just happy to see me?

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  3. That's not the most important problem by dkleinsc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The key problems with the X-ray machines were:
    1. They were invasive searches without anything remotely similar to probable cause.
    2. They don't actually stop people from carrying bombs onto aircraft (as has been tested several times).

    --
    I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    1. Re:That's not the most important problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think the fact that they were unregulated x-ray equipment operated by un-certified amateur radiologists hired through ads on pizza boxes might qualify as a problem.

  4. Looking back at history by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We're going to look back at this era in disbelief. It will be like us looking back at early medicine where people took elixirs full of Mercury.

  5. Except.... by Luthair · · Score: 5, Interesting

    millimeter wave scanners may unzip dna strands and no studies have been done about the long term effects of human exposure, hurray!

  6. Re:Interesting by parkinglot777 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think that has already happened before... http://www.deadseriousnews.com/?p=573 Not a pleasant outcome though... :(

  7. Re:tsa blowing taxpayer money for no benefit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I suspect it's because we don't live in a communist country.

    Actually, it would seem we kinda do live in a communist country

    In a capitalist country, airports would purchase the devices if these were needed by shopping around and choosing the best provider. And then if the public wanted the devices in the airport, the airports that had the devices would flourish (or vice versa). Also, in a capitalist country, devices that were demonstrably flawed (at actually detecting things) would be returned for a refund

    Now in a communist country, the government might mandate that the devices must be built, irregardless of whether these devices actually work and installed everywhere. By the one contractor chosen by their government friends

    Which country are we living in, again?