[ RadSafe ] Airport X-ray body scanners

[Bjorn Cedervall]

Radsafers,
 
I wonder if anyone could comment the dose to skin as well as effective dose from the new airport scanners.
 
I understand that the doses are low but I reflect over the exposure of a large number of people (each one
receiving a very small risk) to a dose they didn't ask for - in particular children and pregnant women. I see
a parallel with being passively exposed to smoking - the extra risk is very low but it is an ethical issue
-what right does someone have to expose someone else to a small extra cancer risk?
 
This risk must reasonably be so low that it would be far below any statistical detection level and we
could of course never even know how small that risk can be expected to be (I do not mean to start
up another LNT debate which we already had dozens of at Radsafers so please save us from another
one of those).
 
Another side of the issue is of course the much larger risk of some statistical terrorist action but this
is my topic above is not about that which is a separate discussion.
 
My personal reflection only,
 
Bjorn Cedervall        bcradsafers at hotmail.com
 
The major attention seems to be about "revealing body parts" etc (one of our Swedish sensational
newspapers recently had a headline saying something like "the nudity scanner" which is along with
their general entertainment agenda).
 
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