A Blog for Healthcare Consumers

Whole body scanners are fast becoming a common screening tool in airports to detect items hidden by clothing.  One of the key concerns air travelers have is the radiation exposure from these screening scanners. There are two types of scanners currently in use at airports in the U.S.

Millimeter wave (MMW) technology uses low energy radio-frequencies which creates 3-D outlines of the body to reveal items hidden by clothing. MMW can detect both metallic and non-metallic items.

Backscatter machines use low-dose X-rays to create high quality pictures that can reveal items under and in clothing.

According to a recent statement released by the American College of Radiology (www.acr.org) the level of radiation passengers are exposed to is extremely low:

"An airline passenger flying cross-country is exposed to more radiation from the flight than from screening by one of these devices. The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) has reported that a traveler would need to experience 100 backscatter scans per year to reach what they classify as a Negligible Individual Dose. The American College of Radiology (ACR) agrees with this conclusion. By these measurements, a traveler would require more than 1,000 such scans in a year to reach the effective dose equal to one standard chest x-ray."

The Health Physics society estimates that a backscatter scan delivers a dose of .005 millirems.  American Science and Engineering Inc, estimates the dose to be .009 millirems. To put these numbers in context, compare radiation doses below from everyday life and common sources:

• Transcontinental flight - 4 mrem
• 2 days in Denver -  1 mrem
• Chest X-ray - 10 mrem
• 1.5 packs of cigarettes per day - 1300 mrem per year
  
• Watching TV - 30 mrem per year
• Airport screening scan - 0.009 mrem per scan

What are your thoughts? Please leave your comments below: