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.
Edgar Cayce once told a man to carry a piece of a certain kind of metal in his pocket, to optimize the ionization of his body & prevent colds. When that nuclear reactor broke down in Japan (radioactive particles do their damage by creating ionizing radiation into the environment), I decided to make some of these “coins” or “Energy Discs” for myself, friends and family:
http://radialappliance.teslabox.com/cayce-on-radiation/
http://radialappliance.teslabox.com/store/carbon-steel-coin/
“Do not take this as being something of superstition, or as something that would be a good luck charm, – but if the entity will wear about its person, or in its pocket, a metal that is carbon steel – preferably in the groin pocket – it will prevent, it will ionize the body – from its very vibrations – to resist cold, congestion, and those inclinations for disturbance with the mucous membranes of the throat and nasal passages.” [Cayce reading #1842-1]
“Cold Coin” is a trademarked term owned by Baar Products LLC – some positive reports on the technology can be found online with this search term…
hth,
James Knochel
Ron Paul 2012!
Oh, Yes!! If the American people want true, constitutional freedom, of everything from food to education to money, we have got to have Ron Paul in office.
Real Foodies for Ron Paul! 😀
AGREE! Have you heard him talk about raw milk? My husband was so excited he had to call me over to watch the video … “he talks about stuff you care about!”
I know, right? He is the only one in Washington who is truly for our freedoms, especially food freedom. He’s also TRULY pro-homeschooling, which we love at our house. Did you know he’s never accepted any money from lobyists, or even a congressional salary? Check out his website.
They lied to me when I was pregnant too but I knew they were lying so I got a pat down.
I just flew in and out of Tampa International this past weekend for another conference. I asked for a patdown instead of the scanner and they said, “Are you worried about radiation?” I said yes, and they said “Oh, it’s sound waves, there’s no radiation involved.” I just looked at the woman and stuck to my guns about wanting to bypass the scanner. They then yelled at top volume, “We have a REFUSAL!” The woman who did the manual search was actually very nice and said that while she personally wasn’t worried about the scanners, “I’m sure we don’t know all there is to know about them.” She said they only get about 10 refusals a day, which means that most people are just blindly marching in there.
GOOD FOR YOU CLAIRE! You are much smarter than me. I didn’t see through the ploy the first time.
I read an in-depth article about the dangerous backscatter machines vs the much less dangerous scanners, but didn’t know how to tell which it was. I was told by 3 different TSA agents that the machine used no radiation. I requested a patdown, but talking to them while waiting for a female agent to do it, they clarified that this was not a backscatter machine, no xrays or body image, but used radio waves – they asserted that you get more radiation from your cell phone. In the end I went ahead through it. I’m more concerned about the agents’ constant exposure vs my occasional travel.
Fortunately, I don’t fly much anymore. I used to fly constantly international and domestically but that stopped when I had kids so that is good.
dark brown miso from Japan is well known against exposure to radiation and heavy metals add to your soup, but do not boil it
This just happened to me too! I have been requesting the pat downs since the scanners first hit my local airport. Week before last, during the pat down, the female agent gave me a whole speech on how the media has been “blowing it out of proportion” when it comes to potential radiation exposure and how they are “completely harmless.” I wonder if there has been some sort of education put out by TSA to try and discourage the pat downs due to holiday travel getting ready to increase (and the extra time that it requires)?
Dr. Mercola had an article recently about radiation exposure from these scanners and spirulina. The same thing happened to me when I flew a few weeks ago.
TSA agents have been getting cancer like crazy. As is expected.
I’ve been avoiding the scanners by simply noting where the metal detactor line is/was and taking that line. It’s usually the line with the parents+kids.
my poor husband was subjected to the scanner on both flights the one leaving Ft. Laurdale and Dallas! It was our first experience with scanners, I on the other hand was allowed thru the old metal dectector with our 4 children. I wondered if he had been exposed to radiation, and asked him too. SO glad that I didn’t have to go thru the scanner since I have nodules on my thyroid! My endocrinologist is saying that even dental xrays are not safe!!!!
🙁 We even have one of those in Spokane… the first time I flew after they installed it there was no line for the regular metal detector and they insisted I get in the line for the naked body cancer causing scanner… I told him I was going to opt out. Most of the agents are reasonable, but some of them are sticklers. Maybe your agent was waiting for the magic words of “opt out” instead of “pat down”. [I believe that is the “official” terminology when you don’t want to go through that scanner… so next time when he denies your pat down say “oh, in that case I opt out”.] Sorry you had to go through that.
On an interesting related note on the times I’ve traveled since they’ve installed that scanner I found it interesting that the ONLY other people I ever saw opt out were pilots and flight crews.