One topic that really infuriates me these days is Airport Security. There seems to be no evidence that anyone is using common sense to make decisions over there at TSA in Washington. If you stop to think about it, it is evident that TSA procedures are all for show. They imagine that “the public” will feel safer in direct proportion to how draconian or harsh the methods are, and how “tough” the employees act. I have been treated rudely and with downright nastiness at times. Is that part of their training? I would really like to know. Does the training manual forbid ever smiling, or acting pleasant? Or is it just such a horrible job that no one is happy?
The most recent scanners being installed are an example of the worst kind of stupidity. Using radiation so casually — when it is a proven cancer-causer and cumulative in the body — is irresponsible, in my opinion. There are those of us, like myself, who have already been exposed to very large amounts of radiation. As a child in the early 50′s I received radium treatments (now called NRI) for deafness due to blocked eustachian tubes. Doctors after WWII pounced on ‘radiation’ as if it were a miracle cure. (They’ve since learned, of course, that it is dangerous, but I think they sometimes choose to ignore that fact to make their jobs easier.) These NRI treatments were done in the US from the 1940′s until the early 1960′s, and from my internet reading I learned that a person getting these treatments was exposed to radiation equal to approximately 10,000 dental x-rays! Since radiation is cumulative (doesn’t ever leave the body), I really want to avoid it as much as possible from now on. My dentist is totally sympathetic, and I don’t get dental x-rays anymore. (Worst scene scenario: losing a tooth is far preferable to getting cancer, IMO.)
The only time thus far that I have encountered scanners in an airport was in Denver in January. I asked to opt out, but the TSA person argued with me, saying it is not radiation, it is “radio waves.” I thought all the scanners were the same, was not expecting that argument, so I allowed the scan. But now I know, and next time I will opt out, no matter what kind of scanner they say it is! It is my right to do so.
I read a news item recently (March 2011) which stated that the airport scanners are not being monitored often enough to measure how much radiation they are emitting and that some measurement results were later found to be inaccurate. It’s a very scary situation, and who knows how it is going to impact the health of people 20 years from now, if it is continued, –especially those who have to fly every week for their jobs! These folks might accumulate very large amounts of radiation, perhaps even enough to cause cancer..and what about birth defects? No one knows. By the way, most doctors are opting out of the scanners and choosing the pat-down. http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2011/04/19/airport-security-scans-what-would-your-doctor-do.aspx
I just learned that several pilots’ unions protested the scanners in November 2010 and favored boycotting. http://www.dailytech.com/Pilots+Unions+Boycott+Body+Scanners+Due+to+Health+Risks/article20150.htm The article also gives a clear picture of the relevant odds (LEVEL OF RISK) we should all think about. To quote, Professor Rez says for the average passenger,the risk of dying from body-scanner induced cancer is about equal to the risk of dying from a terrorist attack — 1 in 30 million. He states, “They’re both incredibly unlikely events. These are still a factor of 10 lower than the probability of dying in any one year from being struck by lightning in the United States.”
Let me restate the above: Your chances of being killed by lightning are 10 times greater than dying from a terrorist attack! WHY then are we spending all this money for TSA? Don’t know about you, but I would be happy to take my chances, every time I fly. Those billions of dollars could be going into our schools, and into training adults for new jobs, — benefitting all of us in a very real way.
Wouldn’t it be a lot more sensible to just ‘clear’ most individuals, once and for all, do a background check and certify that they are not terrorists and never will be, and give them a card that would be scanned at the airport along with their other ID so that person could bypass the security lines? As another alternative, it would be smart to use the behavior-profiling system that Israel uses at its airport. This is not racial profiling, which is illegal, but rather the use of trained professionals who watch for behavior clues that indicate someone is likely to be “up to no good.” A possible terrorist can be identified by a person’s body-language response to a few simple questions. THOSE people are the ones that go through security, while the others bypass most of it. Just Google the words, Israel, airport and behavior-profiling and you will find several articles explaining their processes.
Finally, did you know that most airport employees — including those with access to the planes — do not have to go through security when they come to work? Does knowing that make you feel safe? I learned this on the We Won’t Fly website, in a letter written by a pilot, but others have posted similar concerns: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2646658/posts.
For more on airport security, see the website, wewontfly.com.