Detailed by Propublica recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are discreetly replacing many backscatter x-ray scanners at major airports within the United States. Backscatter x-ray machines detect radiation that reflects off a target in order to build an image of the target for inspection by a TSA agent. In addition, backscatter x-ray scanners create a 2D image, thus two images have to be taken of the human body once a person is standing in the machine with arms raised. Each scan emits a minuscule dose of ionizing radiation that’s the equivalent of two minutes of cosmic radiation during a typical flight. Some travelers have expressed concern about that type of radiation in larger doses being linked to cancer.
The TSA is replacing the backscatter x-ray scanners with millimeter-wave scanners that can build a 3D image of a body and utilizes radio waves to operate. Millimeter-wave scanners emit significantly less energy than a typical cell phone during a call.
However, the TSA claims that the backscatter x-ray scanners haven’t been removed from major U.S. airports due to safety concerns, but rather due to speed concerns. To date, the backscatter machines have been replaced at Boston Logan International, Chicago O’Hare, John F. Kennedy in New York, Los Angeles International, Orlando International and San Francisco International.
The TSA is planning to redeploy the backscatter x-ray scanners at smaller airports around the United States. Regarding the shift to millimeter-wave scanners, TSA spokesman David Castelveter stated “It’s being done strategically. We are replacing some of the older equipment and taking them to smaller airports. That will be done over a period of time.” TSA representatives didn’t specifically indicate which smaller airports will be receiving the older backscatter x-ray scanners.
Besides radiation concerns, privacy advocates have repeatedly expressed concern over backscatter x-ray scanners. While each x-ray scan produces an image of the passenger’s naked body, the TSA implemented new software last year to shift to outlines rather than the original image.
Millimeter-wave scanner take this a step further by using a cartoon image of a passenger’s body and all threats are detected automatically as each scan is quickly analyzed by software rather than a TSA agent. If there’s a problem, the software flags the scan and a TSA agent will intervene at that point.
If a traveler is unsure about which scanner is being used at their airport, each scanner has a unique design. The backscatter x-ray scanner requires a traveler to step between two, large rectangular walls to be scanned. However, the millimeter-wave scanner looks more like a circular glass booth. Both scanners require the traveler to lift their arms up in the air before the scan is performed.
Other airports that already utilized the millimeter-wave scanners include Atlanta International, Baltimore Washington International, Denver International, Dallas / Fort Worth International, Newark Liberty International, Houston George Bush Intercontinental, Indianapolis International and Minneapolis / St. Paul International. According to studies, the millimeter-wave scanner is more effective as discovering explosives on the human body, but also has a higher false-alarm rate ranging from 23 percent to 54 percent.
“Waste” is putting it politely. The smell of fear, frenzies the monster of capitalist greed.
its about time! Millions wasted on crap that does not work! If this was such a siilver bullet fix to security, it would be a quick walk through…you should not have to get half naked to take a flight. You have a choice between two bad options…mollestation or Radiation. Way to go terrorists! You have WON!
You are born naked. Whats the big deal. They are not going to shoot you.
I’d go into diva pose, like I’m a model in a magazine if I was in there.
They make you put your hands above your head, you do not get to choose the position haha.
WARNING! Carry on reading! Or you will die, even if you only looked at the word warning! Once there was a little girl called Clarissa, she was ten-years-old and she lived in a mental hospital, because she killed her mom and her dad. She got…so bad she went to kill all the staff in the hospital so the More-government decided that best idea was to get rid of her so they set up a special room to kill her, as humane as possible but it went wrong the machine they were using went wrong. And she sat there in agony for hours until she died. Now every week on the day of her death she returns to the person that reads this letter, on a monday night at 12:00a.m. She creeps into your room and kills you slowly, by cutting you and watching you bleed to death. Now send this to ten other pictures on this one site, and she will haunt someone else who doesn’t. This isn’t fake. apparently, if u copy and paste this to ten comments in the next ten minutes u will have the best day of ur life tomorrow. u will either get kissed or asked out, if u break this chain u will see a little dead girl in your room tonight. in 53 mins someone will say i love you or I’m sorry
Not if you want to get through quickly, you don’t.
Ask why they’re rushing this in. Answer? Because they got sued and were going to be forced to release a ton of damaging information on the previous scanners. They ignored the order to start public hearings etc. until a judge finally found them in contempt. They then asked for a delay until this March which they somehow got. Now the scanners are being completely replaced, which means that they never have to hold the hearings nor release the information on the devices.
So you then have to ask yourself just how fing bad were these things for us???
I’ve always hated the idea of these.
James, the articles says they are moving some of them into smaller airports, that seems counter-intuitive to your theory a bit.
They’re moving them to where they’ll be discontinued as soon as possible and in the mean time they can delay with the courts because “see we’re not even going to be using them and by the time we could hold public hearings they’ll all be phased out.” If you read the transcripts of what happened in court, this is exactly what they’ve already tried to argue.
And I assume tax payers are paying for all this too right? :)
Of course… while we’re being irradiated for the “privilege” of flying.
haha well said.
Actual pictures off a little. Actual image here (courtesy epic.org)
http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanners/Body_Scan_Pic.pdf
Interesting….
It should be mandatory to get naked. People will get used to it easier than they think. Have people relaxed about it it will end up being no big deal. Could a person strip down if it did not bother them?