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USA persists with radiation airport scanners, while Europe bans them

Europe bans X-ray scanners,The Economist, Nov 16th 2011,   by A.B. THE X-RAY body-scanners that are found in some airports in America have been banned in the European Union. Doubts have long persisted about the safety of these machines, which emit a minute amount of radiation, and the EU has explicitly linked such doubts to its decision, announced at the start of the week. As the press release has it:

In order not to risk jeopardising citizens’ health and safety, only security scanners which do not use X-ray technology are added to the list of authorised methods for passenger screening at EU airports.

That’s not exactly going to cheer up American travellers, who are already struggling to understand why the Transportation Security Administration decided that the X-ray scanners were suitable for them to use. Another kind of body-scanner is available, which uses radiofrequency technology that has not been linked to cancer scares. These are installed in some American airports, such as Atlanta and Dallas, and will be the scanner of choice in Europe… http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/11/body-scanners-0

November 19, 2011 - Posted by | health, USA

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