TSA refusal to release body scanner safety reports has many crying foul

Monday, February 14, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: naked body scanners, safety, health news

(NaturalNews) Two months after lawmakers ordered the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to release safety reports about the levels of radiation being emitted by baggage X-ray machines, naked body scanners, and other airport security equipment, the agency has yet to make this information public. The reports, which remain in the hands of TSA officials, are allegedly being retained to protect "sensitive security or privacy-protected information."

NaturalNews covered TSA's refusal to release safety inspection reports back in December 2010 shortly after USA Today petitioned the agency to release them. TSA workers and travelers have continued to file numerous complaints about radiation exposure not only from the new machinery but also from faulty and poorly-maintained machinery. TSA responded by insisting the machines have all passed safety inspections, but it refused to provide any trace of evidence for this claim (https://www.naturalnews.com/030655_TSA_X-rays...).

"The public has a right to know, and there isn't something so sensitive that requires holding it back," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) who recently sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scanning machines.

TSA officials routinely insist that its scanning machines are all safe, and that no malfunctions have ever caused "an actual or potential additional radiation exposure." But a 2008 report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that not only do TSA contractors routinely fail to properly inspect and maintain machinery, but malfunctioning machinery does indeed emit excess radiation, exposing workers and passengers to unknown levels of harm.

TSA also falsely insists that the electromagnetic wave versions of its naked body scanners are completely harmless, even though scientific tests have shown that the tetrahertz waves used in such machinery cause significant DNA damage.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2011-...

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/2...