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There are body scanners in Europe. I went through one at Schiphol on the way to Washington last week. And I didn't see any sign there to tell me that I could op

by nagrom 15y ago

There are body scanners in Europe. I went through one at Schiphol on the way to Washington last week. And I didn't see any sign there to tell me that I could opt for a pat-down, whereas there are screens to tell you that in Washington on the way back.

glenra 15y ago
The scanners we have in the US are using radiation. Some of the scanners used in Europe are using sound waves instead. (I noticed this because I always opt out of the radiation ones.)
- tmcdonald 15y ago
  I'd recommend not travelling through Manchester Airport then, which have backscatter machines in place and do not allow for opt-out (although this is as-per DfT guidelines). They do only test a random sample, however. The Department for Transport has full confidence in the independent assessment undertaken by the Health Protection Agency. We are confident with their assessment that the dose from being scanned is far below the allowed levels in the UK and does not constitute any unacceptable risks to health
  - botondus 15y ago
    Interesting. So it constitutes only acceptable risks to health. Of course "acceptable" being judged by whatever officials are there at the Health Protection Agency. I'd be curious to know how many exposures did they take into account.... what if you're flying every day? Or say 3 times a week?
  - glenra 15y ago
    My chief concern is that the security agencies have often been known to lie and/or be technically incompetent when it comes to such things. Case in point: I still remember when we were being told that going through the xray machine doesn't damage film. It does, but it took them YEARS to admit it. So now we're being told that this machine (when being operated correctly and when working properly and when it has been properly calibrated) merely poses "acceptable" risks to health. We know the people running the machines are largely idiots and we have reason to suspect the machines aren't entirely idiot-proof - because almost nothing is. Frankly, I wouldn't trust the TSA to operate a blender safely; they're the last people I want giving me an x-ray scan.

by nagrom 15y ago

glenra 15y ago

The scanners we have in the US are using radiation. Some of the scanners used in Europe are using sound waves instead. (I noticed this because I always opt out of the radiation ones.)

tmcdonald 15y ago
I'd recommend not travelling through Manchester Airport then, which have backscatter machines in place and do not allow for opt-out (although this is as-per DfT guidelines). They do only test a random sample, however. The Department for Transport has full confidence in the independent assessment undertaken by the Health Protection Agency. We are confident with their assessment that the dose from being scanned is far below the allowed levels in the UK and does not constitute any unacceptable risks to health
- botondus 15y ago
  Interesting. So it constitutes only acceptable risks to health. Of course "acceptable" being judged by whatever officials are there at the Health Protection Agency. I'd be curious to know how many exposures did they take into account.... what if you're flying every day? Or say 3 times a week?
- glenra 15y ago
  My chief concern is that the security agencies have often been known to lie and/or be technically incompetent when it comes to such things. Case in point: I still remember when we were being told that going through the xray machine doesn't damage film. It does, but it took them YEARS to admit it. So now we're being told that this machine (when being operated correctly and when working properly and when it has been properly calibrated) merely poses "acceptable" risks to health. We know the people running the machines are largely idiots and we have reason to suspect the machines aren't entirely idiot-proof - because almost nothing is. Frankly, I wouldn't trust the TSA to operate a blender safely; they're the last people I want giving me an x-ray scan.