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Scientists: TSA scanners didn't zap travelers with too much radiation

Bart Jansen
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A new report that found X-ray scanners previously used by the Transportation Security Administration didn’t overexpose travelers to radiation opens the door for the agency to bring back updated versions of the machines.

Transportation Security Administration officers stand near an Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) full-body scanner at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 22, 2010.

The so-called "backscatter" machines, which TSA used at airport checkpoints from 2008 to 2013, exposed travelers to one-tenth the radiation limit set by the American National Standards Institute and Health Physics Society, according to the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine made public Tuesday. When the machines were in use, lawmakers and travelers expressed concerns that the machines exposed travelers and TSA officers to too much radiation.

The Department of Homeland Security paid for the study because TSA is considering using updated versions of the X-ray machines,  manufactured by American Science and Engineering Inc.

The TSA shelved the Rapiscan Secure 1000 machines in 2013 for privacy reasons. The machines created near-naked images of travelers while scanning for contraband hidden beneath clothing.

TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security on Tuesday that full-body scanners "greatly enhanced" the ability to detect new and evolving threats to aviation.

The "technology continues to perform to specification standards when maintained and employed properly, and we continue to improve its detection capabilities," Neffenger told lawmakers at the hearing to discuss screening generally.

TSA dumps near-naked Rapiscan body scanners

USA TODAY revealed in 2011 that the TSA and its contractors had failed to review maintenance records to detect unexpected radiation readings recorded for backscatter X-ray scanners deployed at that time. Radiation levels were recorded at levels up to 10 times higher than expected, according to the review of maintenance and inspection records under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The TSA, which ordered that all deployed machines be retested to reassure the public, said at the time that the records reflected math mistakes and that all the machines were safe. And even at the highest readings listed on some of the records — the numbers the TSA said were mistakes — appeared to be many times less than the agency said a person absorbs through one day of natural background radiation.

TSA to retest airport body scanners for radiation - USATODAY.com

In the study Tuesday, researchers inspected prototype machines in government facilities because TSA isn't using X-ray at this point.

Typical scans from a backscatter machine last 6 seconds. A scan would have to last 60 seconds to exceed the recommended radiation limit for a single dose, the scientists found. Even if the machine malfunctioned and focused the X-ray beam on a single location such as the lens of an eye, it wouldn’t damage the tissue,  the report said.

“Overall, the committee found that both the Rapiscan Secure 1000 and the AS&E SmartCheck X-ray backscatter systems complied with the applicable standard,” the report said.

TSA deployed full-body scanners to reduce the number of pat-downs its agents had to do to passengers. The full-body scanners now deployed in airports use radio waves called millimeter-wave technology. The machines create cartoon images of travelers and suspicious items carried beneath clothing while searching for non-metallic weapons. Agents still pat down travelers if  the machine detects something suspicious. Travelers can also decline to use the full-body scanners and opt for a pat-down search.

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