Those TSA Body Scanners: Unanswered Questions

We shared our our personal concerns about the TSA X-Ray scanners a year ago. Many others have similar concerns, and experts continue to speak out.

For example, a Christmas-Day article in Florida's South-Sentinal newspaper starts off like this:

Airport body scanners like those used in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando may pose a significant cancer threat, particularly to those over age 65 and women genetically at risk of breast cancer, some medical experts warn.

Because the scanners' lose dose of radiation penetrates just below skin level, it could imperil the lens of the eye, the thyroid and a woman's breasts, said Dr. Edward Dauer, head of radiology at Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Remember that you can choose to "opt out" of these scanners at the TSA check point in favor of a somewhat invasive body search. That choice, of course, is a good example of a classic dilemma or Morton's Fork.

You can read the entire article here.