Interesting convo about the TSA's Backscatter X-Rays
So one of my responsibilities where I work relates to Radiological safety and part of that is dealing with all the States different laws concerning the topic. So today while I was speaking with the head of Florida's safety board concerning some radiological issues we starting BSing about the new backscatter devices and he shared some interesting information that I thought was worth food for thought....
-Since these devices are property of the Federal Gov't they do not fall under the same state guidelines (many of which are stricter then Fed rules) for X-Ray safety.
-The Federal Gov't has not shared with any state agency the X-Ray scatter profiles of these devices.
-The Federal Gov't has not shared with the states any dosimeter badge results. A dosimeter badge measures radiation exposure over a period of time.
Now while this may mean nothing it certainly goes to show you the lack of transparency within the TSA and DHS.
I will also state that if anyone tells there's not enough radiation exposure to cause cancer that person is lying. The fact is science does not know the effect radiation has on the human body at small doses over time. We only know the impact of radiation in large doses such as Hiroshima, and large industrial accidents.
I got a chuckle as we ended the conversation when this gentleman said perhaps jokingly or not…if he ever finds the TSA transports one via truck over state highways Florida will confiscate it for testing so the TSA better fly all these units in.
