Who doesn’t hate the rigmarole of
airport security, or, as the New York Times recently dubbed it, “Security
Theater?”
Take off your shoes and put them
in the bin (or on the belt, depending on the airport): take off your belt; take
off your jacket; pick through your purse to find the mini bottle of lotion and
your lipstick and mascara and squirrel them away in a plastic sandwich baggie;
put your laptop in a separate bin; put your keys and change into the little
bowl; throw your carry-on onto the conveyor belt; walk your bare feet over
thousands of germs; throw away your half-finished water bottle; be prepared to
have your small jar of peanut butter confiscated . . . and walk through the . .
.
WAIT!
Don’t do it. Do not walk through the body scanner. You do not have to. They cannot make you. And it may be dangerous for your health to do
so.
Irritating compliance with
ridiculous rules aside, this last step in the security process is downright
wrong.
There are two kinds of body
scanners in airports across the country – those that use x-ray technology and
those that use millimeter wave technology (and, according to a recent New York
Times article, millimeter wave machines DO emit radiation, albeit less
radiation than the x-ray scanners). For
decades, health care practitioners have cautioned against exposure to
unnecessary x-rays. You even get a
little lead-apron to wear when you have to have dental x-rays. So, why is it now okay to expose thousands of
travelers to unnecessary radiation all for the sake of “security?” Even if those levels are labeled “low” and “safe,”
why risk it?
European, American and Australian
studies are mixed about the safety of body scanners. Plainly, they are just too new to have
accurate long-term data about their safety.
In fact, TSA has just recently admitted that the x-ray scanners are
probably not safe and are pulling them from many airports in favor of the
millimeter scanners (the ones with the “low” radiation). But, why is low radiation considered
safe? What about people who travel
frequently and are exposed often to this “safe” radiation? Logic would have it that even the millimeter
scanners may not be the best for people’s health.
Recently, I flew out of O’Hare
and faced the usual ordeal of Security Theater.
Instead of encountering the ire of security staff when I opted out of
going through the scanner (they then have to do a pat down instead), I actually
got sympathy from the TSA workers. The
first person I had to deal with told me, “I don’t blame you. I won’t go through those things either.” The second person, the woman who was assigned
to do my pat down said, “Have you done this before?” When I nodded, she said. “Yeah, I bypass all the time myself.”
So, go ahead and exert your right
not to be scanned. Opt for the pat down,
even if it takes a little longer and isn’t exactly the most pleasant experience
in the world. If entire lines of
passengers refuse to be corralled through the scanner, perhaps TSA will come up
with saner – and safer – methods of ensuring security.
Considering how few terrorists
are caught, despite Security Theater, isn’t it unconscionable to expose
thousands of travelers to health-damaging radiation – “just in case?”
