The scanners emit low-levels of radiation when performing the scans, which has raised concerns around the world.

PBS published a report earlier this year that said it was possible that between six and 100 airline passengers each year could get cancer from going through the machines.

The TSA has repeatedly said the scanners are less dangerous than common X-rays. The Department of Homeland Security also said that the technology used on the scanners is safe for all passengers.

While Broward County can pass the ban, the ultimate decision will come from the TSA on whether or not to keep the technology in place.
These scanners emit ionizing radiation. It hasn’t been determined how safe they are. Both types of full body scanners were placed into the field for use without proper testing. Aside from the privacy issues and cost, there are serious concerns as to the effectiveness and safety of the scanners.

The TSA has repeatedly said the scanners are less dangerous than common X-rays.

And for common X-rays, you get a lead covering and the technician flees the room before starting.

If there really was a threat to the national aviation system, we’d have seen it by now. These scanners were, are, and always shall be in place for the profits of the people who made them.

Miles O’Brien reports on the safety of the latest backscatter body-scanning machines that are widely used in American airport security.

Hari Sreenivasan caught up with Miles this week to get some behind-the-scenes intelligence on the piece. What do we know about the ionizing radiation emitted by these scanners? Why are such security devices outlawed in the European Union? And what would it take for a terrorist to beat one?

Watch Behind the Backscatter on PBS. See more from PBS NEWSHOUR.

More at EPIC.

“To be considered a terrorist is really an insult and it’s really humiliating..it’s a humiliation..it was a horrifying thing,” said Alaska State Rep. Sharon Cissna.

“This is a silent problem and the only way I’m going to find out what’s really going on is really to be able to talk one on one with people throughout the country,” said Cissna.

The TSA has given their standard response, meaning they aren’t going to take Cissna seriously at this point in time.

“We have too many people who travel every day and we know that the bad guys are out there to do us harm..our job is to find them and the latest and most innovative techniques to do that are through hiding explosives to get onto aircraft,” said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez.

Alaska State Rep. Refuses to Subject Herself to Intrusive TSA Searches: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Representative Cissna appears committed on this issue and it’s important for others to inform themselves and fight back against the TSA’s intrusive policies.

The new body scanner software will have a generic body shape instead of the actual picture of the person, but some concerns about privacy remain.

What you see if the alarm goes off.

What you see if everything is okay.

Passengers will be able to view the same outline a TSA officer sees, and it will no longer be necessary for a separate TSA officer to view the image in a remotely located viewing room.

While it appears that the TSA has begun to address the public’s concerns over these machines, a software upgrade doesn’t go far enough. The machines still do not detect the threats that they were put into place to detect and they don’t address the possible medical issues that worry the general public. The TSA still has not addressed 4th Amendment concerns, nor have they addressed the health risks in using such machines.

the system does not “eliminate” privacy concerns as the TSA stated today. For example:

• This system remains an intrusive search underneath individuals’ clothing. Privacy concerns especially remain for those who have “anomalies” that must be investigated, such as people with adult diapers, prosthetic breasts following mastectomies, colostomy appliances, catheter tubes – even just lumps on their body.
• This software would do nothing about the TSA’s extremely intrusive and offensive pat-down policy. And if the software has the effect of increasing the scanner “alarm” rate compared to more discerning human screeners, it could actually lead to more pat-downs.
• A further question is whether the raw nude images remain in any way accessible to operators, which would mean one of the privacy threats posed by these machines – the “leakage” of images into the public domain – would remain. The machines are designed to store the images, even if they don’t show them. That is a problem that needs to be addressed, and effective oversight measures need to be in place to prevent abuse.
• It is also worth noting that the new software is being installed only in millimeter wave machines, and not in scanners that use backscatter x-ray technology, which constitute about half of the scanners in service. The TSA says it is working on similar software for the backscatter machines. Note that health questions have also been raised concerning the backscatter x-ray machines (which look like a wall that you stand against, as opposed to the millimeter wave machines which are a glass booth you step inside).

The fact that the software to do this was there to begin with further supports the case that full body scanners were put into place as a matter of conditioning and not safety. By making a software upgrade, the TSA can claim that they are listening to the public and changing things to please passengers when, in fact, you are still being conditioned to walk through the scanners. Your private bits just won’t be so visible now.

Today’s security still would not prevent 9/11 from happening. Everything you currently see at the airports is all for show. It’s there to make you feel better because the government refuses to admit that they cannot protect you 100% of the time.

Peterson said she was selected for extra screening. First, security officers lifted her out of her wheelchair and helped her stand in a full body scanner. Then, she was given a physical pat down.

“They took me to one side and they patted me down, and they made me stand for, with my arms out, for over 10 minutes,” she said. “I was beginning to feel that I wasn’t going to be able to continue to stand, I was going to fall down or something.”

“When I first heard her say, ‘We’re going to have to pat you down,’ I thought she was talking about my body. I was turning around and putting my arms out and she said, ‘no, we’re going to have to examine your hair,’ and I said, ‘no, we’re not going to do that today and you’re going to have to get security or your supervisor,’” said Adiele.

Adiele claims she looked around, saw plenty of other women with “big hair, ponytails” who weren’t being searched, and it made her mad.  She felt it was discrimination, that she as a black woman with an afro tucked up into a curly bun, was being selected for hand-screening when women of other races weren’t.  She had nothing to hide but just didn’t want strangers feeling her hair.

Adiele didn’t want to miss her flight so she eventually relented and let the search of her hair commence.

“They put the gloves on and now they’re really just digging around in my hair and I’m like, arrgg! Why is this happening?” said Adiele.

“The supervisor shows up and she says, ‘It’s our policy that we examine anything that poofs from the body,’ and I’m looking around me at all these women with bigger hair if you will and I’m thinking ‘why am I the only one being singled out here for poofy hair?” Adiele said.

She laughs just thinking about it.  “They are required to investigate and examine anything that poofs from the body? That sounds like a bogus policy to me. It just sounds bogus. Poofs?!” said Adiele.

Yeah, Adiele, it is bogus. She has filed a complaint with the TSA and the regional office said they’re happy to investigate just as soon as they get the paperwork.

My friend, Veronica, stood in line for security. She was directed into the line for the full body scanner and decided that she was, indeed, going to opt out. At first she was scared, but had the resolve to ask for an opt out. As she approached the full body scanner, she timidly said to the TSA agent, “I’d really rather not go through that thing.”

“So, you’re asking for an opt out?” the TSA agent asked.

“Yes.”

The TSA agent called for a female to pat down Veronica. It was only a few minutes wait until one arrived. The female TSA agent was very nice to Veronica. She explained that Veronica had done nothing wrong and then proceeded to detail everything she was going to do before she did it.

Denver Airport, July 6, 2011

Veronica relayed to me that the female TSA agent was very nice and appropriate and she did not feel that the pat down was invasive at all. At first, the TSA agent was a bit apprehensive, but Veronica struck up a conversation with her. The lady has been working as a security screener for eleven years and said that people mostly yell at her and are extremely rude when they have their pat downs. The TSA lady felt that most people had an attitude before she ever arrived and often blamed her for the pat down.

During her pat down, Veronica was not groped and the most invasive part was when the TSA lady inspected her pants area. The TSA lady only went inside the pants as far down as the belt area, approximately an inch from the top of the pants.

Overall, Veronica said that the pat down was professional and didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. She intends to let me know how the experience is when she returns from Las Vegas so that she can see how different airports are doing different things.

I think one thing we, as travelers, could do when facing the TSA and the security theater at the airport is to be a bit more polite. One thing that the TSA lady seemed to stress was that people were being jackasses just because they could. While I don’t agree with what is going on at the airport, we could at least be a little bit more respectful. We don’t need to escalate the situation because we can, we should only do so when it is warranted.

One final note on all of this. The TSA lady told my friend that, because of complaints and the uncertainty of the effectiveness of the full body scanners, she doesn’t think they will last long at the airports. I know the last time I flew through Denver, the puffer machines were collecting dust in a corner. Let’s hope the full body scanners end up the same way. In the mean time, remember, a lot of what occurs at the airport is attitude. Don’t be a jerk just because you can.