nuclear-news

Public’s right to know about airport scanners’ radiation hazards

the TSA had previously been unable to detect incidents when excessive doses of radiation were emitted by  X-ray machines used to inspect baggage. Furthermore, TSA officials failed to detect machines whose safety protections were missing or disabled.

(USA) Lawmaker Presses TSA to Release Reports on Airport Scanner Radiation | FairWarning, By Patrick Corcoran  February 9, 2011 Members of Congress two months ago started demanding the release of inspection reports regarding the possible ill effects of radiation from full-body X-ray scanners widely used for airport security.

The wait, USA Today reports, is making at least one key lawmaker irritable. “The public has a right to know, and there isn’t something so sensitive that requires holding it back,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who called the delays “inexcusable.”

Chaffetz, the chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees homeland defense, has introduced a bill that would scale back the use of full-body scanners………….

The worries about possible radiation overdoses stem partly from a 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It found that the TSA had previously been unable to detect incidents when excessive doses of radiation were emitted by  X-ray machines used to inspect baggage. Furthermore, TSA officials failed to detect machines whose safety protections were missing or disabled.

The TSA operates 400 full-body scanners at airports around the nation, roughly evenly divided between those that use X-rays and those that employ electromagnetic pulse

Lawmaker Presses TSA to Release Reports on Airport Scanner Radiation | FairWarning

February 10, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | civil liberties, USA