CONGRESS CALLS FOR PROBE INTO SCANNER RADIATION HAZARDS  (AGAIN)
A Long Island congressman is calling attention to the dangers of cancer causing radiation exposure administered by our friends at the TSA. Congressman Steve Israel has called on the Transportation Security Administration to launch an independent investigation on health risks from the full-body Backscatter X-ray scanners after learning of thousands of 'malfunctions'. According to the Transportation Security they operate almost nonstop causing many machines to fail repeatedly.  If you do the math it's an average of over 15 malfunctions per machine! On top of that, John Sedat, emeritus professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, believes that the effective dose could be 45 times as high as the T.S.A. has admitted to even when they work properly. The congressman cited records over the past year in stating that there have been 3,778 mechanical malfunctions and/or failures with the Backscatters, but radiation safety surveys were conducted in only 2 percent of the mishaps,CBS reported. “What happens if the scan pauses for a moment and concentrates on one specific area,” Rep. Israel said. The machines move a narrowly focused beam of high-intensity radiation very quickly across the body, and David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center, says he worries about mechanical malfunctions that could cause the beam to stop in one place for even a few seconds, resulting in tissue and chromosome damaging radiation exposure. For security reasons, much about how the machines work has been kept secret.  Congressman Israel offered safety advice for some groups. “Particularly if you’re a pregnant woman or if you have children, you need to know that you don’t have to go through the Backscatter. You can ask for some alternatives. T.S.A. officials insist  that  radiation is safe for everyone, including pregnant women, infants and young children, even though children are significantly more sensitive to radiation’s effects. There are nearly 250 of these full-body scanners at 37 airports nationwide. And furthermore,if you went to a radiologist for a legitimate x-ray the doctor administering it most likely wouldn't be a McDonald's reject with a seventh grade education.
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