- Admin
- #21
Re: Airport Security, Immigration & Border Control
[textarea]No health risk from ‘naked’ airport scanners
Radiation from full-body scanners, also called 'naked' scanners as they produce an image of passengers without clothes, currently being used at Manchester Airport should not be a ‘barrier’ to air travel, a new report has said. The Manchester Evening News reports that scientists from the Health Protection Agency have been testing the controversial device amid concerns it could pose a threat to passengers’ health.
In June this year an American scientist called for more research into the machine after questioning the amount of radiation to which parts of the body are exposed. Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University’s centre for radiological research, raised concerns the dose on to the skin was 20 times higher than previously thought – with the most likely risk being skin cancer. But public health officials have put the radiation volumes into context.
Axel Macdonald, of the HPA’s centre for radiation, chemicals and environmental hazards, said: ‘Since the start of the year a huge amount of attention has been paid to the use of X-ray security scanners in UK airports. Some people have been concerned about the privacy issues while others have raised fears about their health from further radiation exposure.'
‘What has not been widely reported in the coverage is that radiation doses from this technology are very small, especially when compared to those that air travellers receive from cosmic rays when flying. The body scan dose from a single scan gives passengers about the same amount of radiation as they will receive in 15 seconds from cosmic rays while flying at 35,000ft. If the government opts to roll out this technology to all UK airports our advice to the travelling public would be do not see this technology as a barrier to air travel.’
Experts say people living in Britain are already exposed to natural radiation and can safely pass through the body scanner 5000 times a year. Manchester Airport’s Sarah Barrett told the newspaper: ‘We welcome the latest report from the Health Protection Agency and we continue to inform our passengers about the process and their use at this airport. We have three scanners at the airport now and feedback from our customers remains positive about their use here.’
Source[/textarea]
[textarea]No health risk from ‘naked’ airport scanners
Radiation from full-body scanners, also called 'naked' scanners as they produce an image of passengers without clothes, currently being used at Manchester Airport should not be a ‘barrier’ to air travel, a new report has said. The Manchester Evening News reports that scientists from the Health Protection Agency have been testing the controversial device amid concerns it could pose a threat to passengers’ health.
In June this year an American scientist called for more research into the machine after questioning the amount of radiation to which parts of the body are exposed. Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University’s centre for radiological research, raised concerns the dose on to the skin was 20 times higher than previously thought – with the most likely risk being skin cancer. But public health officials have put the radiation volumes into context.
Axel Macdonald, of the HPA’s centre for radiation, chemicals and environmental hazards, said: ‘Since the start of the year a huge amount of attention has been paid to the use of X-ray security scanners in UK airports. Some people have been concerned about the privacy issues while others have raised fears about their health from further radiation exposure.'
‘What has not been widely reported in the coverage is that radiation doses from this technology are very small, especially when compared to those that air travellers receive from cosmic rays when flying. The body scan dose from a single scan gives passengers about the same amount of radiation as they will receive in 15 seconds from cosmic rays while flying at 35,000ft. If the government opts to roll out this technology to all UK airports our advice to the travelling public would be do not see this technology as a barrier to air travel.’
Experts say people living in Britain are already exposed to natural radiation and can safely pass through the body scanner 5000 times a year. Manchester Airport’s Sarah Barrett told the newspaper: ‘We welcome the latest report from the Health Protection Agency and we continue to inform our passengers about the process and their use at this airport. We have three scanners at the airport now and feedback from our customers remains positive about their use here.’
Source[/textarea]
