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“Backscatter”scanners at airports increase risk to health

“It is important to note that there are “backscatter” AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health,”

Pilots boycott full-body scanners over health fears By Kate Schneider news.com.au  November 08, 2010 THE world’s largest pilot’s association has boycotted full-body scanners over health risks but passengers wishing to avoid the devices may instead be faced with “invasive” pat-down searches.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA) made the recommendation in a recent letter to its members, advising pilots to submit to the searches instead of facing the extra radiation from the scanners.

………..Full-body scanners are becoming harder to avoid as they are used in an increasing number of countries around the world, for example there are 341 devices used at 67 US airports.

………David Bates, president of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines, is leading the charge to boycott the scanners.

“It is important to note that there are “backscatter” AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health,” Mr Bates said.

“I share our pilots’ concerns about this additional radiation exposure and plan to recommend that our pilots refrain from going through the AIT (body scanners).

“We already experience significantly higher radiation exposure than most other occupations, and there is mounting evidence of higher-than-average cancer rates as a consequence.”

US scientists warned earlier this year of the potential health dangers of the devices, saying that the radiation levels have been dangerously underestimated and could lead to an increased risk of skin cancer.

University of California biochemist David Agard warned that unlike other scanners, the radiation from these devices is delivered at low energy beam levels, with most of the dose concentrated in the skin and underlying tissue.

“While the dose would be safe if it were distributed throughout the volume of the entire body, the dose to the skin may be dangerously high,” Dr Agard said.

“Ionizing radiation such as the X-rays used in these scanners have the potential to induce chromosome damage, and that can lead to cancer.”

David Brenner, the head of Columbia University’s Centre for Radiological Research, says the concentration on the skin – one of the most radiation-sensitive organs of the body – means the radiation dose is actually 20 times higher than the official estimate……

Pilots boycott full-body scanners over health fears | News.com.au

November 8, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive