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Title: TSA Agents Revolt Over Body Scanner Radiation Exposure
Source:
Infowars.com
URL Source: http://www.infowars.com/tsa-agents- ... dy-scanner-radiation-exposure/
Published: Dec 8, 2010
Author: Steve Watson
Post Date: 2010-12-08 10:59:02 by TwentyTwelve
Keywords: TSA, Body Scanner Radiation
Views: 297
Comments: 33
TSA Agents Revolt Over Body Scanner Radiation Exposure Steve Watson December 8, 2010 TSA workers are complaining about the amounts of radiation they are being exposed to on a daily basis in the wake of the mass introduction of body scanners to airports around the country. USA Today reports that TSA agents are unhappy with the fact that they are being kept in the dark by their employers, despite repeated requests for information. “We don’t think the agency is sharing enough information,” said Milly Rodriguez, occupational health and safety specialist at the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents TSA workers. “Radiation just invokes a lot of fear.” she added. According to the USA Today report, several TSA employees have expressed their concerns to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): …a TSA employee at an unidentified airport asked CDC in June to examine concerns about radiation exposures from standing near the new full-body X-ray scanners for hours a day. The CDC said it didn’t have authority to do a hazard assessment unless three or more current employees at one location made a joint request, according to a September letter from the CDC to the unnamed worker. The CDC provided the letter to USA TODAY. Despite claiming that the body scanners and baggage scanners emit safe doses of radiation and are routinely inspected, the TSA has refused to release its radiation inspection records. Worse still, an independent study by the CDC carried out in 2004, found that some baggage scanners were in violation of federal radiation standards, and were emitting two or three times beyond the agreed safe limit. A further 2008 CDC report noted that some x-ray machines were missing protective lead curtains or had had safety features disabled by TSA employees with duct tape, paper towels and other materials. Now there are even more x-ray devices in use, TSA workers’ concerns, as well as recent public backlash, is beginning to force the issue. This has prompted members of congress to get involved, with a group led by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass, demanding that the TSA release the documents. As the USA Today report explains, The TSA is responsible for inspecting the x-ray scanners itself, rather than the FDA, because they are not classed as medical devices. Following the congressional attention, the TSA has said that it will attempt to release the radiation records to USA Today, but has not indicated when this will be, citing the need to review the records for security reasons. Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the top Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee over federal workforce issues, has vowed to press the TSA for the documentation. “It should send some flashing red lights when they won’t allow the public to review that data,” said Chaffetz, who oversaw the passage in the House last year of an amendment to ban “strip-search” imaging at airports. “You don’t have to look at my wife and 8-year-old daughter naked to secure an airplane,” Chaffetz said at the time. “You can actually see the sweat on somebody’s back. You can tell the difference between a dime and a nickel. If they can do that, they can see things that quite frankly I don’t think they should be looking at in order to secure a plane,” Chaffetz told the House. Frankly, more TSA workers should be concerned over the levels of radiation they are being exposed to and are being asked to expose the public to. Dr Michael Love, who runs an X-ray lab at the department of biophysics and biophysical chemistry at the Johns Hopkins school of medicine recently told AFP that “statistically someone is going to get skin cancer from these X-rays”. “…we have a situation at the airports where people are so eager to fly that they will risk their lives in this manner,” he added. John Sedat, a University of California at San Francisco professor of biochemistry and biophysics and member of the National Academy of Sciences tells CNet that the machines have “mutagenic effects” and will increase the risk of cancer. Sedat previously sent a letter to the White House science Czar John P. Holdren, identifying the specific risk the machines pose to children and the elderly. The letter stated: “it appears that real independent safety data do not exist… There has not been sufficient review of the intermediate and long-term effects of radiation exposure associated with airport scanners. There is good reason to believe that these scanners will increase the risk of cancer to children and other vulnerable populations.” The TSA has repeatedly stated that going through the machines is equal to the radiation encountered during just two minutes of a flight. However, this does not take into account that the scanning machines specifically target only the skin and the muscle tissue immediately beneath. The scanners are similar to C-Scans and fire ionizing radiation at those inside which penetrates a few centimeters into the flesh and reflects off the skin to form a naked body image. The firing of ionizing radiation at the body effectively “unzips” DNA, according to scientific research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The research shows that even very low doses of X-ray can delay or prevent cellular repair of damaged DNA, yet pregnant women and children will be subjected to the process as new guidelines including scanners are adopted. The Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety concluded in their report on the matter that governments must justify the use of the scanners and that a more accurate assessment of the health risks is needed. Pregnant women and children should not be subject to scanning, according to the report, adding that governments should consider “other techniques to achieve the same end without the use of ionizing radiation.” “The Committee cited the IAEA’s 1996 Basic Safety Standards agreement, drafted over three decades, that protects people from radiation. Frequent exposure to low doses of radiation can lead to cancer and birth defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” reported Bloomberg. Scientists at Columbia University also entered the debate recently, warning that the dose emitted by the naked x-ray devices could be up to 20 times higher than originally estimated, likely contributing to an increase in a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma which affects the head and neck. “If all 800 million people who use airports every year were screened with X-rays then the very small individual risk multiplied by the large number of screened people might imply a potential public health or societal risk. The population risk has the potential to be significant,” said Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University’s centre for radiological research. Despite all these warnings, The Department of Homeland Security claims that the scanners are completely safe, pointing to “independent” verification from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, both federal government bodies. — Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor at Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and regular contributor to Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England. 
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#1. To: TwentyTwelve (#0)
hey, they're only doing their job, they say. didn't care about violating people, as long as they get paid. but when they have some personal risk, gee, they aren't down with that.
Thou hast power only to act not over the result thereof. Act thou therefore without prospect of the result and without succcumbing to inaction. The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it...Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction...Sever the ignorant doubt in your heart with the sword of self-knowledge. Observe your discipline. Arise. The Bhagavad Gita
the distance that the person is away from the scanner is a very huge factor. This radiation dissipates very quickly with distance. At least that is what I think, could be wrong. It may be that the people being screened are the ones that get the larger doses by far. don't stand close to the scanner is the rule. Perhaps they're at risk, perhaps not. but the regular travelers are definitely at risk is my opinion. I mean the number of people who die prematurely from this will be very significant. but I guess that is within safety standards, who would argue with safety standards.
Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Back when in my hometown were a chiropractor and a used car dealer on adjacent lots. As back-crackers did back then when doing an initial evaluation, a full body X-ray was taken to show how messed up one's spine was (calling for manipulation). This particular guy had no lead shielding behind the patient, so the car dealer next door was daily getting zapped with who knows how much radiation. Within fifteen years, he died of massive cancer throughout his body.
Did his family take this to court? Did they receive any compensation?
Cancer will start showing up several years from now.
I don't know. By that time I was out of the house and out of the town. Thank goodness.
did this guy ever find out what he did i wonder...
Thou hast power only to act not over the result thereof. Act thou therefore without prospect of the result and without succcumbing to inaction. The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it...Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction...Sever the ignorant doubt in your heart with the sword of self-knowledge. Observe your discipline. Arise. The Bhagavad Gita
We have seen this before. East Germany, the Soviet Union, and some country whose name I forget in the 1930s. Led to a large war as I recall.
A people unwilling to use force, once diplomatic efforts have been exhausted, in order to preserve or obtain their liberty deserves the tyrants that rule over them.
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Ben Franklin
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Ben Franklin
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Ben Franklin
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Ben Franklin
they are probably already sterile, so their troglodyte genes won't be passed on to their cloven hoofed spawn.
Thou hast power only to act not over the result thereof. Act thou therefore without prospect of the result and without succcumbing to inaction. The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it...Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction...Sever the ignorant doubt in your heart with the sword of self-knowledge. Observe your discipline. Arise. The Bhagavad Gita
Something that I've wondered about also. We played with radiation for years before learning the often lethal results years later.
The new Agent Orange. How much more can the airline industry take before it collapses due to FedGov insanity??
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Ben Franklin
Perhaps this is the agenda.
Perhaps this is the agenda. My thoughts exactly. Except I think I would leave out the "perhaps".
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
I feel better already, my government says they are safe. What more can anyone want??????????
What more can anyone want?????????? Well, if it is good enough for the drooling, slack jawed, mouth breathing defective rejects from the Funny Farm at Freeptardia why it should be good for anyone - with an I.Q. between 60 and 80.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
What more can anyone want?????????? A different government ... that tells the truth!!!
Sidetrack, interesting truth... Once upon a time, at my yearly evaluation by a government supervisor, I was asked this question.... "What grade level and position do you aspire to", he said with a straight face. My answer with a shit eating grin was, "nothing, the grade I now am and retirement". He turned purple and allowed as how he would not dare turn in an evaluation report like that. What a farce. When he looked like he was gonna cry, I told him write down whatever, it was ok with me.
Such will get your name on a list.
The shit list or the A list?
Uhhh, ummmm, well, uhhh, "enemies list"???????
A government that tells the truth??? LOL
I was staying at a hotel this week that catered to airline pilots and rode up the elevator with one. "Hey, the only people I think TSA should really go over with a fine tooth comb besides you airline pilots are the Brownie Scouts," I joked. "Yeah," the pilot answered,"Brownies are really dangerous." "It's those stuffed animals they take on trips," I added. "They scare me. I think TSA should naked body scanner Brownies until they glow in the dark. Serves them right for hating our freedoms." "I always feel safer with TSA at work," the pilot said. As he stepped off the elevator I warned him: "Watch your step or it's Gitmo."
i know the pilots are now exempt from these scanners, but i wish they'd make a statement by striking and that everyone else would boycott the airports that have them. nice to see you, again, rr.
They are a totally self centered union, with no concern for others. When they strike, no one flies. When the mechanics and machinists strike, they do not support them in anyway and keep on flying.
that is the price you pay for wanting to work for a jack boot thug organization. maybe you should demand asbestos and lead dust jumpers to wear.
but isn't everyone with an I.Q. between 60 and 80 already a freeptard? too bad ewecon and whitesandypanties just miss the cut off with their combined I.Q. of 57.
well, they're not alone. that's the problem with most people. few want to make personal sacrifices in order to stop these grievances...and then you have idiots like Harriet from Wimberley.
No. There are plenty of liberals who could fit in that I.Q. Range - take for example the shatterpated community known as Defective Underground. As much of a cesspool of inanity as Freeptardia is even they have some standards.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
#2. To: TwentyTwelve (#0)
#3. To: gengis gandhi, 4 (#1)
#4. To: Lod (#3)
Within fifteen years, he died of massive cancer throughout his body.
#5. To: Red Jones (#2)
I mean the number of people who die prematurely from this will be very significant.
#6. To: TwentyTwelve (#4)
#7. To: Lod (#3)
#8. To: gengis gandhi (#1)
didn't care about violating people, as long as they get paid.
#9. To: TwentyTwelve (#0)
#10. To: gengis gandhi (#1)
#11. To: gengis gandhi (#1)
#12. To: Red Jones, All (#2)
#13. To: Eric Stratton (#11)
#14. To: gengis gandhi, 4 (#7)
did this guy ever find out what he did i wonder...
#15. To: TwentyTwelve (#0)
TSA workers are complaining about the amounts of radiation they are being exposed to on a daily basis in the wake of the mass introduction of body scanners to airports around the country.
"This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?"
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#16. To: gengis gandhi (#13)
#17. To: X-15 (#15)
How much more can the airline industry take before it collapses due to FedGov insanity??
#18. To: TwentyTwelve, X-15 (#17)
How much more can the airline industry take before it collapses due to FedGov insanity??
#19. To: TwentyTwelve (#0)
Despite all these warnings, The Department of Homeland Security claims that the scanners are completely safe, pointing to “independent” verification from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, both federal government bodies.
#20. To: Cynicom (#19)
I feel better already, my government says they are safe.
#21. To: Cynicom (#19)
I feel better already, my government says they are safe.
#22. To: Original_Intent (#20)
#23. To: Phant2000 (#21)
A different government ... that tells the truth!!!
#24. To: Cynicom (#23)
Such will get your name on a list.
#25. To: Phant2000 (#24)
The shit list or the A list?
#26. To: Phant2000, Cynicom (#21)
A different government ... that tells the truth!!!
#27. To: Eric Stratton (#12)
#28. To: roughrider (#27)
#29. To: christine (#28)
i know the pilots are now exempt from these scanners, but i wish they'd make a statement by striking
#30. To: TwentyTwelve (#0)
the most factual thing ever posted by buckeroo
I have no freaking' clue. buckeroo posted on 2010-07-24 21:33:00 ET
#31. To: Original_Intent (#20)
Well, if it is good enough for the drooling, slack jawed, mouth breathing defective rejects from the Funny Farm at Freeptardia why it should be good for anyone - with an I.Q. between 60 and 80.
the most factual thing ever posted by buckeroo
I have no freaking' clue. buckeroo posted on 2010-07-24 21:33:00 ET
#32. To: Cynicom (#29)
They are a totally self centered union, with no concern for others.
#33. To: IRTorqued (#31)
but isn't everyone with an I.Q. between 60 and 80 already a freeptard?
too bad ewecon and whitesandypanties just miss the cut off with their combined I.Q. of 57.
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