Study Indicates Radiation Exposure from Scanners No Threat
 An increasing number of air passengers pass through full-body scanners as part of airport security. And many of those passengers are asking, "Are those scanners safe?"
Researchers at the University of California have a one-word answer: Yes.
"The doses delivered by the airport backscatter scanners is truly very low, and individuals should not fear going through the scanners based on exposure to the radiation," says Rebecca Smith-Bindman, M.D., a study co-author. "Despite being ionizing radiation, the doses are not that different than the doses we are exposed to every day from daily living."
A full-body scanner emits about three to nine minutes of the radiation received through normal daily living - from the sun and radon from the ground.
An airport scanner differs from a medical imaging device in that the image from the scanner comes from radiation reflected off the body. A medical imaging device transmits radiation through the body to produce the image.
For the study, the researchers looked at three groups of fliers: all fliers, those who fly 60-plus hours a week, and 5-year-old girls who fly once a week. They assumed that the fliers had one scan for each trip, for a radiation exposure of 0.1 microsievert. They used as a total 100 million passengers taking 750 million flights a year.
For all fliers, the researchers estimated that six cancers could develop over a lifetime from scanner radiation. But, 40 million other cancers would result from other causes in those fliers.
For frequent fliers, four cancers might be linked to these scanners, but 600 other cancers would result from flying at high altitudes, and 400,000 cancers would develop because of other factors, the researchers say.
Among 2 million 5-year-old girls making one round-trip a week, airport scanners might cause one additional breast cancer over their lifetimes, but 250,000 breast cancers would result from other causes in this group.
Radiation expert Stephen Machnicki, M.D., at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, agrees that the scanners are safe. "Of course, no radiation is better than radiation, but you have to weigh the pros and cons, he says. "I don't think the risks from these scanners is so great people should be hysterical about it and have this fear that prevents them from flying."
Always talk with your health care provider to find out more information.
|