3 ms·

A single backscatter X-ray scan gives a radiation dose of 0.009 mrems, about the same as eating a banana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose h

by naz 16y ago

A single backscatter X-ray scan gives a radiation dose of 0.009 mrems, about the same as eating a banana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose Don't get me wrong, I'm opposed to the scanners as much as anyone for privacy reasons and general pointlessness. But I'm seeing a lot of bad science thrown around here.

daten 16y ago
You're not comparing bananas to bananas. As I understand, the limited information that has been publicly released about the backscatter machines is a useless measurement when you take into account how they actually work. You can't apply a standard measurement from a medical x-ray machine that targets a small part of your body using one technique to a different machine that targets your entire body using a different technique. So the two problems are: 1. You don't have good numbers to even evaluate how dangerous they are, many evaluations, including possibly the article above, are useless because they don't have the real data to compare to. 2. The radiation exposure from a banana also effects your body differently than a medical x-ray machine which is in turn different from a backscatter machine targeting your entire body. I'm not saying people aren't trying to evaluate the actual risk in good faith. I'm saying they're skipping the step where we get useful numbers from the manufacturer of the machine to even apply good science to. Edit: by "whole body" I mean "whole surface of your body" since it's concentrated on your skin
travisp 16y ago
While I might agree that the worried about an X-ray scan are overblown (I assume that is your position), that number is looking at a whole body number. Part of the argument is that the amount may be significantly higher because the dose is concentrated near the surface of the skin, rather than across the whole body like cosmic ray and chest X-ray exposure.
- yummyfajitas 16y ago
  So instead of being equivalent to eating a banana, it's probably equivalent to mashing one up and using it as skin cream. In other news, millions of small children who enjoy playing with food exposed to RADIATION! Are bananas safe for your children?

by naz 16y ago

daten 16y ago

You're not comparing bananas to bananas. As I understand, the limited information that has been publicly released about the backscatter machines is a useless measurement when you take into account how they actually work. You can't apply a standard measurement from a medical x-ray machine that targets a small part of your body using one technique to a different machine that targets your entire body using a different technique. So the two problems are: 1. You don't have good numbers to even evaluate how dangerous they are, many evaluations, including possibly the article above, are useless because they don't have the real data to compare to. 2. The radiation exposure from a banana also effects your body differently than a medical x-ray machine which is in turn different from a backscatter machine targeting your entire body. I'm not saying people aren't trying to evaluate the actual risk in good faith. I'm saying they're skipping the step where we get useful numbers from the manufacturer of the machine to even apply good science to. Edit: by "whole body" I mean "whole surface of your body" since it's concentrated on your skin

travisp 16y ago

While I might agree that the worried about an X-ray scan are overblown (I assume that is your position), that number is looking at a whole body number. Part of the argument is that the amount may be significantly higher because the dose is concentrated near the surface of the skin, rather than across the whole body like cosmic ray and chest X-ray exposure.

yummyfajitas 16y ago
So instead of being equivalent to eating a banana, it's probably equivalent to mashing one up and using it as skin cream. In other news, millions of small children who enjoy playing with food exposed to RADIATION! Are bananas safe for your children?