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View Full Version : TSA: We don't need no stinking Independent Backscatter Test, they're safe!




aGameOfThrones
11-17-2011, 07:57 AM
Backscatter X-ray machines may or may not be carcinogenic. The European Union isn't taking any chances, but the TSA is so confident in their safety that it likely won't conduct the additional tests it promised the Senate.

During his testimony at a Senate hearing this month, TSA administrator John Pistole asserted that the agency would be willing to undertake independent evaluations of the controversial devices. "There are those who continue to express concerns [of backscatter technology], and so I want to do everything that I can to reassure those people that these machines are as safe as possible," Pistole told CNN.

With the release of a draft report by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, however, Pistole has softened that position. "An inspector general report that is in draft form validates those prior studies, so that may suffice," Pistole continued—despite internal TSA audits that have found calculation errors and missing data some of the test results.

http://gizmodo.com/5860419/tsa-could-skip-independent-backscatter-tests-because-existing-studies-may-suffice

jkr
11-17-2011, 08:10 AM
safe as possible


so they aren't actually "safe"?

Bruno
11-17-2011, 08:13 AM
safe as possible


so they aren't actually "safe"?

Nor effective.

ZanZibar
11-17-2011, 09:43 AM
Going through one of these?




http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/01/0107_airport_security_technology/image/005_rapiscan_secure_1000sp.jpg





Ask your local friendly TSA agent these questions and see what they say:


- Is there a dosimeter making measurements?
- Is this machine calibrated, if so when, and how frequently?
- Have you been trained in radiation exposure?
- Do you have a license to control this amount of radiation?
- Who licensed this machine?
- Has this machine been certified or regulated in any way?
- What are the radiological operating paramaters of this machine?
- What is the scatter pattern around this machine?
- What are the exposure limits of this machine?
- How much and what type of radiation is being emitted?
- Is this machine in compliance with 10 CFR 20 (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/)?


See if you can get them on tape saying something that contradicts TSA policy, or better yet, common sense. :D

Lucille
11-17-2011, 01:30 PM
It's just another USG death panel, chipping away at the useless eaters.


The EU has temporarily forbidden the use of porno-scanners at airports (http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/98696.html); a permanent ban may follow in April if “experts” decide they’re as dangerous as many scientists claim.

Meanwhile, “Research suggests that because of the large number of scanners in the U.S. - there are 250 - up to 100 passengers a year could get cancer.”