I discovered yesterday on my way home from the Wise Traditions seminar that I had unknowingly received a bon voyage blast of radiation from a body scanner on my way out of town via Tampa International Airport.
A radiation expert that I was chatting up in the van on the way to Dallas airport yesterday clued me in.
Apparently, some TSA agents are now flat out lying to airline passengers about the machines they operate.
I never got the memo.
I have to admit that I haven’t been keeping up with the roll-out of body scanner machines across the United States over the past year. I knew some of the larger hubs had them but had not read or heard anywhere in my local community that Tampa International now has them too.
So, on my way through security last Thursday I wasn’t anticipating anything different at the security check.
As I dutifully removed my shoes, I first sensed something was very wrong when I saw the big security box that people were walking through after stepping inside and placing their feet on the appropriate spots and putting their hands in the air.
I figured that must be a body scanner so I told the TSA agent when it was my turn that I wanted a pat-down instead.
“We don’t do pat-downs here”, he said.
“This machine here doesn’t have any radiation – if it did, I wouldn’t be standing so close“, he assured me.
Skeptical and taken aback but the TSA agent’s answer, I went ahead and proceeded through the big box to be checked.
Big mistake. Big HUGE mistake.
So, after the conference on the way home, the radiation expert I was talking to in the shuttle told me that the big box that I had stepped into was indeed a body scanner and that I had received a not so small dose of radiation as a thank you for my lemming-like behavior.
Sure enough, when I arrived at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, I talked to the baggage check-in agent and he told me that yes, Dallas has body scanners and that you can, of course, choose a pat-down if you like.
When I arrived at my terminal’s security point, the machine used was the exact same box like the one I walked through in Tampa International. The people went inside and stood exactly as I had and put their hands in the air the same way.
When it was my turn to be checked, I requested a pat-down.
“Of course, that is your choice”, said the TSA agent.
She proceeded to give me a manual pat-down, which I have to say was no big deal at all. At no time, did I feel uncomfortable or violated in any way.
So, what happened at TIA and why in the world did that TSA agent so unlawfully mislead me? Why did I receive such a completely different answer at Tampa International Airport and at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport?
My thought is that the TSA agent believed 100% what he was telling me. I did not sense or see any body language that indicated that he knew he was lying. I think the man was told an untruth from his superior or someone else at TSA and is simply passing on the lies to airline passengers.
The important takeaway of this post is BEWARE. Be prepared for lies from TSA when you travel and when in doubt, insist on a pat-down.
I am now on the hunt for some black algae which will apparently release that radiation from my body. Any tips?
UPDATE: The program TSA Precheck is now available for those travelers who wish to avoid x-ray body scanners and avoid long security lines.
Hi Sarah! Great to see you there! FYI, here’s the algae supplement Dr Williams was raving about in her evening session:
It’s not in her book since she learned about it after its publication. I heard breathtaking anecdotes from people who had been taking it. Here’s a little excerpt from the Radical Medicine website materials:
“BioSuperfood is composed of 4 different algae, originally researched in Russia and used extensively after Chernobyl, it is now hydroponically grown in optimal conditions in Montreal. This “BSF” formula consisting of various blue, green and red algae, including he carotenoid-â€rich Dunaliella and Astaxanthin-â€rich Haematococcus, are like little factories, turning out large amounts of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, protein, enzymes, and mixed carotenoids. Some of the species, in fact, contain more nutrition per ounce than anything you can eat…”
Bingo! Yes, that’s the one I was thinking of. Thanks Beth. Will get some asap. So great to reconnect with you at the conference. 🙂
I agree with Sarah, The HealthyHomeEconomist the key is to get a pat-down in public.
Also please note that you can file a complaint with the TSA that you were deliberately told no by a TSA agent. They are not allowed to do that. Not sure that you’re going to get very far but if people start complaining it will show them that this is not working.
I refuse EVERY TIME and have instructed every member of my family to refuse. My concern is that this is an open radiation container and even if we don’t go through the machine we are still being exposed by what is not contained in the structure.
So sorry that this happened to you.
Be well,
Mira
Interestingly enough these backscatter machines are being banned in the EU. http://www.propublica.org/article/europe-bans-x-ray-body-scanners-used-at-u.s.-airports
I was horrified when coming back from the WAPF conference in Dallas yesterday at the pregnant TSA worker standing right beside the xray machines. I can only imagine what all of that exposure will do to a fetus.
I’m really relieved to hear that your pat down was not invasive. My mom told the TSA worker a few months ago that she wanted a pat down and the TSA worker said “Trust me, you don’t want to do that.” at which point my mother got radiated.
I think the key there is to make sure your pat down is in PUBLIC. The TSA agent asks if you would like a pat down in private which I would not recommend. With everyone around, the likelihood of getting an invasive pat down is much reduced. Mine was a complete nonissue. In fact, the TSA agent and I were joking about it while it was going on.
The homeopathic remedy” x-ray” has been used to counteract the effects of radiation exposure, and is designed to do so.
So sorry this happened to you.
I have no problems with pat downs. My boys and I used to travel a lot the past 3 years and we always get the pat down. I also won’t let them put my sons homeopathic meds through the xray machine and it has never been an issue.
It sucks that you were lied, misled, and not granted your right to a pat down. But what dosage did you really receive from the scanner? Best answer I can come up with is 0.1 microsieverts, at maximum, and possibly as little as 0.02 microsieverts. Given that each passenger on the average coast to coast flight in the US gets a 30-40 microsievert dose from the flight itself, it seems there’s little sense in being alarmed about a smidge more radiation from the scanner while traveling. If you’re flying, you’re already putting yourself at much, much greater exposure than the scanner is going to give you. Personally, I’d object much more strongly to the invasion of privacy than an extra 0.1 microsieverts of radiation.
Well, even Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, chooses a pat-down instead of going through a scanner when he travels!!!
Sure, avoid extra radiation where you can. I would too. Just saying, the dosage for your flight was somewhere on the order of 120-750 times as much as from the pre-flight screening.
No dose of radiation is insignificant. The radiation expert I talked to yesterday said the scanner dose is far from small and that I should take steps to mitigate it.
I think what Kate is saying is that you should take those steps every time you fly because of the radiation from flying, whether or not you go through the scanner.
I had to stand in several of those in the USA and Europe on my last trip, while pregnant too! I thought they worked more like a mythographer.
Snookered by the Airport Body Scanner – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/LrXuN2AA
Hi all,
Another suggestion for radiation exposure. My naturopath sent this out to all her clients when the power plant in Japan melted down. She suggest iodine.
Read about it here: http://www.holisticacare.com/thyroid-2/take-iodine-to-protect-yourself-from-nuclear-radiation/
Thanks for initiating another important discussion, Sarah.
I opted for the pat-down recently at Houston Hobby airport. They had signs advising travelers that they had the right to ask for this instead of the scan. Seems to me this signage should be mandatory at every scanner station. Pat-down was not especially intrusive or traumatic. I felt like I had literally dodged a bullet!