""They're not all being replaced," TSA spokesman David Castelveter said. "It's being done strategically. We are replacing some of the older equipment and taking them to smaller airports. That will be done over a period of time.""<p>In other words: "So, we have these machines that may be harmful and cause a PR disaster, so instead of doing the right thing (protecting people from harm, and all), let's move them to smaller airports, where it's much less likely to cause a stir."<p>This is so messed up!
Backscatter doesn't pose any health risk to travelers. You get a <i>much</i> higher dose of radiation from the flight. The only real health concerns are for the workers who are exposed to them continuously.<p>X-ray, mm-wave, magic pixie scanners, I don't care what type they are, I'm still opting out because it's a blatant violation of the 4th amendment (when mandated, staffed, and managed by the gov).<p>I'll be celebrating when body scanners and other security theater is ended entirely. I'm not getting my hopes up.
I went through security at the Dayton airport last year. I refused the L3 "body scanner" (backscatter) machine. The TSA worker asked me why. I told him I thought it was an unnecessary risk. He laughed and basically told me that I was wrong, and that the machine poses no safety risk. But I still opted for the pat-down. Shortly thereafter, the TSA issued a recommendation that backscatter workers wear "radiation badges" to monitor their exposure. Never trust manufacturers of security products (like L3) on their word alone...
Maybe I'm just naive but it seems that if the TSA were significantly more transparent about how they deploy new screening procedures, US travelers would hate them a little less.<p>Why not just say safety testing results were inconclusive and in the best interests of passengers we'd prefer a more efficient alternative?<p>Meh, whatever. I'm still going to opt-out until I'm required by law to go through whatever contraption they have deployed.
Let's see: Michael Chertoff was head of the TSA, oversaw the decision about the <i>safety</i> of the scanners, and held a financial interest in the company that made the scanners.<p>Sounds legit, nice work Mike.
I was rather encouraged by the headline, only to discover that instead of ripping out unnecessary security theater they're actually just wasting more money on new machines. Man do the companies making those things ever have good lobbyists! By screwing up they actually get even more business!
So the TSA is saying “if something slows down the lines enough and costs us headcount, we will eventually make changes?”<p>Sounds like a great argument to keep opting out!
<i>Asked about the changes, John Terrill, a spokesman for Rapiscan — which makes the X-ray scanners — wrote in an email, "No comment on this."</i><p>Rapiscan? Could they have chosen a worse name for their company?
I find the people complaining about X-Ray scanners in airports as if they're some unprecedented weakening of the 4th amendment to be a little bit silly. Where we're you guys in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, when things like stop and frisk destroyed the 4th amendment for inner city minorities?
Is metal detector a different thing from full body scanner?<p>In Russia they have installed metal detectors (I believe) on entrance to suburban and subway train stations. Of course, with the huge amount of traffic the police officers simply cannot inspect every person who rings positive, so they just ignore the detector altogether.
I never went through one of these and will never go through one. I rather get a pat-down.<p>I'm not that concerned about the health effects... This is a matter of principle. Everybody knows the security theater is just that... a theater. No need to participate in it any more than necessary.<p>9-11 by its very nature can never happen again. It could only work once, because the passengers still operated under the assumption that as long as they comply they will get out of this alive. After 9-11 this assumption is no longer valid and hence passengers will no longer comply.<p>This, btw, is exactly what brought the 4th plane down. Some of the passengers heard what happened over cell phone and then decided to do something about their own situation.<p>Edit: The usual spelling corrections.
I passed through one of the largest airports in the U.S. recently, being early and prepared to opt-out, and was pleasantly surprised to see the line moving faster than I'd seen it in a long time. Perhaps it's not just public perception but the very long waits this was causing.
From the article, "The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly removing its X-ray body scanners from major airports over the last few weeks and <i>replacing them with machines that radiation experts believe are safer."</i>
"... but the TSA has not confirmed which ones" and "No study comparing the two machines' effectiveness has been released. The TSA says its own results are classified."<p>... who do these people work for?
There should be plenty of time to test them now, to see if they are dangerous, and to see if they were correctly calibrated while they were deployed. Right?