As much as people love traveling via cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages, some people are concerned about being exposed to the radiation being emitted by airport full body scanners.
Independent tests have shown that the older generation full body scanners in use at airports across America are safe for even the most frequent travelers.
A passenger would have to be screened 17,000 times a year before reaching the scientific communitys assessment of annual radiation dose limit, according to the Department of Homeland Securitys Inspector General. This means that so long as a passenger is not screened on average more than 47 times a day for 365 consecutive days, there is no reason for concern.
The Inspector Generals report was in response to concerns raised over the use of backscatter X-ray machines, a total of which 247 are currently deployed at 39 U.S. airports.
The Inspector General found that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has designed a good program that regularly monitors scanners to ensure that they are operating correctly emit no excess radiation. Full body scanners are checked every six months as well as whenever a unit is moved or has maintenance work.
No accidental radiation overdoses of backscatter units have ever occurred, according to the Inspector General. The report did recommend, and TSA concurs, that backscatter scanner operators receive more extensive training. www.cheapfares.com