Enhanced Airport Screenings - Necessary or Outrageous?

[Natalka]

The radiation in the scanners is WAY low compared with a regular medical x-ray.

"As for the actual radiation dose, he (David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center) said the typical backscatter machines deliver about 0.1 microsevert of radiation. The average chest X-ray, by comparison, delivers 100 microseverts of radiation, and a chest computed tomography or CT scan delivers 10,000 microseverts.


According to the Transportation Security Administration website, the radiation dose from a single scan on a backscatter machine is the equivalent of two minutes of flying on an airplane.


So think of that last sentence - if you are flying for more than two minutes, which of course you are, you are already being exposed to much more radiation.

[cliff]

I think it is unfortunately necessary however, can you imagine the amount of radiation a frequent flier would endure. It is undoubtably a health risk

[Natalka]

True, cliff, but I think lots of people don't even know they are exposed, or how much...

[matrix82]

Do you think I would have any issues with having steel plates in my jaw? It never made the old scan go off, but I am worried with the new one...should I get a note from my doctor saying that I had jaw surgery and two titanium places as a result?

[Natalka]

matrix, maybe contact your local airport security division -

[MercyEhm]

Do you think I would have any issues with having steel plates in my jaw? It never made the old scan go off, but I am worried with the new one...should I get a note from my doctor saying that I had jaw surgery and two titanium places as a result?

ALWAYS if you fly especailly internationally. Its something you should have in your passport.

It will save you a lot of time in airports I assure you. We deal with too many people who don't know they need to advise if they have plates in their heads (no pun intended)

[lekate]

I'm not too concerned, I really don't want to be on a flight where someone has an idea of me (and the rest of the passengers/crew) not making it alive to my destination.

[c_mcarthur]

saw this on msn.ca this morning, this is what happens if u refuse to be scanned/patted down
http://en.video.sympatico.ca/index.p...r/677966900001

[papillon]

saw this on msn.ca this morning, this is what happens if u refuse to be scanned/patted down
http://en.video.sympatico.ca/index.p...r/677966900001

That's outrageous! Personally I would feel very violated and thus will not be flying anywhere that this is mandatory.

[madchives]

whole situation is troublesome, as in every airport seems
like they make up these rules - i flew from a somewhat big
town, with no passport, into canada - no real checking.

thought it was great at the time - now i guess i should be worried?
fine not getting on an airplane with me then

[VeeVee]

Do what has to be done so I and other passengers are safe...there is a load of wackos out there plotting things I or you could never imagine. So if I have to feel uncomfortable for a few seconds so be it..as long as I arrive alive!

[Andit]

In the past, I've been pulled aside & searched (as an example, so others wouldn't feel "targetted"). Yes, it was annoying, but not that big a deal (& this was in the days before 9/11).

I find folks like that fellow being interviewed annoying. How can he not realize that his behaviour would have been suspicious (start one procedure, change his mind, try another, change his mind)? Maybe it's just me, but I found his attitude & banter anything but "friendly".

As for the little girl, they didn't arbitrarily grab a child to search, she set off the metal detector. There are horrible people in this world who would happily sacrifice their child for any number of reasons, so using a child to smuggle a weapon is not impossible. One of the tactics to smuggle drugs & weapons years ago, was to put contraband at the bottom of a dog crate containing a cranky snappy dog - pup discouraged the examination of the kennel & they'd just let em through (my friend worked for customs in the 80s).

Years ago (1990 to be exact), I went to a tour of a movie studio in Los Angeles & had to go through a metal detector to get in. I was wearing a sundress with a belt, sandals, & carrying a purse. Yep, ya guessed it, I set off the detector. My friend took my purse through, no alarm. I took off my belt & went through - beeping all the way. Then came my necklace, med alert, ring, still kept beeping. Finally, I took off my sandals - turns out the buckle was setting off the alarm!

Personally, whatever needs to be done to keep everyone safe is fine by me. Of course, I have very few inhibitions after being examined by doctors, residents, nurses, anyone in a lab coat in the hospital.

[Natalka]

Do what has to be done so I and other passengers are safe...there is a load of wackos out there plotting things I or you could never imagine. So if I have to feel uncomfortable for a few seconds so be it..as long as I arrive alive!

The guy in the video was being a jerk - so fine, he doesn't have to fly. Flying is not mandatory, it's not a right.
Wow, and he got way more than his 15 minutes of fame, bummer...

[crowsnest]

I'd rather get patted down than scanned. Those scanners are totally violating and reveal your entire bodies to the "designated people" but who are these workers that will see our entire bodies revealed! As a woman, I will always worry about the people that are looking at these scans. They could be real perverts!

Yes, but the new 'enhanced' pat down is much more invasive now, they feel up your thighs until they meet resistance: your crotch. And they no longer use the BACK of their hands (like in the past) to feel under and around your breasts. Thats quite a bit more touching than I'm comfortable with from a stranger, in public, with crowds of people around. I'd rather a unknown stranger see it all than feel it all... I'm just glad I have no plans to travel for quite some time!!

[DiamondLil]

Yes, but the new 'enhanced' pat down is much more invasive now, they feel up your thighs until they meet resistance: your crotch. And they no longer use the BACK of their hands (like in the past) to feel under and around your breasts. Thats quite a bit more touching than I'm comfortable with from a stranger, in public, with crowds of people around. I'd rather a unknown stranger see it all than feel it all... I'm just glad I have no plans to travel for quite some time!!

I agree crowsnest. I had no problems with the searches/scanns they did in the summertime, but the ones they are doing at some airports (namely, the one at LAX I saw on the news) were very invasive. I hate being touched, but this almost amounts to groping when they are searching around your breasts and your crotch area (if you dont consent to the full body scan (showing your nearly nude body on the scan), they have to search you, otherwise you wont be allowed on the plane). I had plans on going to Los Angeles during march break, but after I saw this news report, I will be cancelling that trip - I dont want to put myself and my children through this kind of search.