Airport Body Scanners Could Give You Cancer?

      A number of researchers from the University of California at San Francisco have expressed concern about potential serious risks from full body airport scanners.  If you didn't know, full body scanners have quickly been placed in many major airports as a primary security check for all passengers.  The researchers are concerned over the quality of the safety guidelines followed by TSA. The guidelines were established by the American National Standards Institute, an organization whose members include companies that make the scanners and the government agencies promoting them.  Their main concern however is the amount of radiation the skin is exposed to. If the same dose of radiation was exposed to the entire body it would be safe, however the majority of the energy from the scanner is delivered to the skin and the underlying tissue. There are other red flags especially for children, pregnant women and the overall safety of the scanner.  The entire letter of concern from the researchers can be found here.  More articles can be found below.

Article #1: Airport body scanners 'could give you cancer,' warns expert
Article #2: Aviation authority halts use of full-body scanners
Article #3: Airport Body Scanners Under Pressure: Experts Now Warn X-ray Devices "could give you cancer"
Article #4: Can Airport Body Scanners Stop Terrorist Attacks?
Article #5: Airport security gets more complex just in time for rush of holiday travellers
Article #6: Full-body scanners installed at Dulles
Article #7: Pittsburgh International to debut body scans at all checkpoints