Dr. Gupta (CNN) on radiation from airport screening devices

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The TSA is using two types of screening machines. One, the millimeter wave imaging machine, uses radio frequency energy to image the body. According to the TSA these deliver 10,000 times less energy than your cell phone. The other type of machine, backscatter X-ray, is what has people talking because these units rely on X-ray technology.

These X-rays are very low level, they bounce radiation off the skin and back to the machine. This is how authorities can scan for dangerous items under someone’s clothes. But this also means the radiation is at very low levels. It's bouncing off the skin, not penetrating it or your organs. This is unlike a medical X-ray which is a higher level radiation penetrating the skin to see bones and other tissue.

Medical professionals working around these levels of radiation are required to wear a badge that measures radiation. Dr. Wayne Olan, director of neuroradiology and MRI at Suburban Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine sent us a picture of such a badge explaining that he and his co-workers are required to submit their badges every month to ensure they have not been overexposed. He tells us the max whole-body dose of radiation is 5,000 millirem per year. To put these scans in perspective, it would take you 125 thousand trips through these scanners to max out.

In fact, passing through this backscatter X-ray scanner actually exposes you to a hundred times less radiation than a flight from say Boston to Los Angeles. When you fly you are exposed to cosmic rays so the backround radiation is higher at higher altitudes. This is is the same reason people in Denver are exposed to more radiation per year than, say, folks living in Miami, because Denver is at higher altitude.

The American Cancer Society told us that because the radiation levels being reported are low, its experts don’t see this being a serious issue for infrequent travelers.

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/07/could-airport-scanners-give-too-much-radiation/

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Don't let yer fax git in the whey of a good story, son!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Medical professionals working around these levels of radiation are required to wear a badge that measures radiation. Dr. Wayne Olan, director of neuroradiology and MRI at Suburban Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine sent us a picture of such a badge explaining that he and his co-workers are required to submit their badges every month to ensure they have not been overexposed. He tells us the max whole-body dose of radiation is 5,000 millirem per year. To put these scans in perspective, it would take you 125 thousand trips through these scanners to max out.

http://pagingdrgupta...much-radiation/

But most workplaces administratively limit it to 500mRem/year.

I work with every isotope and type of radiation under the sun. There is a slogan.... ALARA..... As Low As Reasonably Achievable. This means balancing exposure and benefit from the work... don't expose yourself to unnecessary radiation. I haven't looked at the energy of the X-rays the machine gives off but it's strong enough for the x-rays to pass through clothing but not the skin. However, some will still enter the body and give you a deep dose exposure. And I wonder what the skin dose is? The annual limit for that is 50,000 mRem/year. I'd rather bypass the machine and do a pat down.

I'm a registered RPT (NRRPT).

http://www.nrrpt.org...%20Information/

ETA: I haven't met too many doctors that know jack-sh!t about radiation.

Edited November 17, 2010 by John Galt

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What is deep dose exposure?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

ETA: I haven't met too many doctors that know jack-sh!t about radiation.

I wonder what the upper limit is for microwave radiation.

[Ban Hammer 13,669]

The American Cancer Society told us that because the radiation levels being reported are low, its experts don’t see this being a serious issue for infrequent travelers.

and for frequent travelers?

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and for frequent travelers?

[nab 74]

and for frequent travelers?

your family jewels will glow a lovely shade of green/yellow in the dark, like a beacon in the night calling to Nessa

[Ban Hammer 13,669]

your family jewels will glow a lovely shade of green/yellow in the dark, like a beacon in the night calling to Nessa

then i can stop buying those glow in the dark condoms!

[nab 74]

then i can stop buying those glow in the dark condoms!

OOOOOH!!!! oldie oldie oldie movie alert!! Skin Deep, John Ritter i love love love old comedies