There is 'no safe dose of radiation' from TSA naked body scanners
Wednesday, August 08, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes from Natural News(NaturalNews) Besides the fact that they are being operated by an agency that demonstrates on a daily basis a disdain and disregard for discretion, privacy, and professionalism, the Transportation Security Administration's full-body backscatter x-ray machines are just not safe.
That's the diagnosis of Dr. Dong Kim, the neurosurgeon who treated U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., when she was shot in the head in January 2011 by a crazed gunman in Tucson.
"There is really no absolutely safe dose of radiation," said Kim, chair of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Medical School. "Each exposure is additive, and there is no need to incur any extra radiation when there is an alternative."
In fact, Kim says he doesn't allow the TSA to irradiate him when he travels; he always opts for the individual pat down when passing through airport security.
More opting out
He's not alone. Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, also says he opts out of the x-ray, citing concerns that the machines may not be properly calibrated and inspected in a timely manner.
That kind of apprehension is spreading. The European Union is so concerned about the radiation levels emitted by backscatter x-ray machines that it has put a moratorium on their use continent-wide.
The more is known about them, the more dangerous they seem.
The machines, according to the Alliance for Natural Health, emit x-ray signals that "skim the entire surface of your skin instead of being directed to a localized area of your body, which means that radiation levels could be 10 to 20 times higher than the manufacturer's calculations." The low-level ionizing radiation emitted can also cause skin cancer.
The not-for-profit investigative journalist group known as ProPublica filed a report in November 2011 citing similar health concerns from noted radiation safety experts who had gathered in Maryland to evaluate a backscatter machine called Secure 1000. When the experts learned the machine used x-rays to see through people's clothing, they were alarmed.
Many within the group, which convened at the behest of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the way the machine functioned appeared to violate a cardinal rule governing radiation safety: Humans really should not be x-rayed unless there is some medical benefit.
"I think this is really a slippery slope," Jill Lipoti, one-time director of New Jersey's radiation protection program. MORE
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