Quote:
Originally Posted by bhutocracy
There is no way to fly without getting radiation. The scanners are nothing compared to what you get once you get up in the air.. it's a non issue.
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Perhaps, but that's not conclusively shown, and much of the technical details of the scanners have not been publicly revealed. The dosage numbers the TSA and others are touting are whole body exposure. More specifically, what is the effect of much of the radiation exposure being concentrated into one's skin - that's still unknown.
With all that said, the scanners, when operating correctly by a highly trained operator, are likely safe. However, what if the scanner malfunctions and/or is operated by an operator who isn't fully aware of the limitations / safety issues of the machine.
In short, in regards to safety, much of the concern with the scanners is the radiation exposure in the event of a malfunction / operator error.
Read up on the Therac-25 saga ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25
The key points of the Therac-25 saga are that malfunctions can and do happen, especially in machines predominantly controlled by software, and operator training is an important variable - TSA agents aren't trained medical professionals ... in the view of many, that alone is worrisome in regards to the scanners.
Ron