BAA said: "We treat any allegations of inappropriate behaviour or misuse of security equipment very seriously and these claims are being investigated thoroughly," a BAA spokesman said. "If found to be substantiated we will take appropriate action."
Friday, March 26, 2010
News: Airport Worker Disciplined for Abuse of Full Body Scanner
From the Guardian: police gave a warning for harassment against a 25 year old man for taking a photo of a female co-worker as she inadvertantly walked through a full body scanner. Tabloid newspaper the Sun reports that he 'ogled her' and made 'lewd' comments.
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As a pacemaker user I have been trying for six weeks now to get some sort of answer from Mr Morris of Birmingham International Airport as to whether or not the new scanners can effect my pacemaker in any way, To date I have had no satisfactory response. I cannot even opt for the “pat down” even though the American's offer this alternative at their Airports.
ReplyDeleteThe response from the aviation industry is “go through the scanner or don't fly”, fair enough, I wont fly, who is the loser not me, they need my money. There are over 480 pacemaker users in the Birmingham area who I am in touch with and if they were all (excluding families)to opt out of flying from Birmingham this would represent a considerable loss of income.
Below is an email I sent to Mr Morris via my MP Lorely Burt.
“Unfortunately Mr Morris obviously has a poor understanding of the the new scanners, which I must admit was expected”.
"There are two types of scanners we will have to endure at the airport; the millimetre-wave scanner and the ‘backscatter’ X-ray scanner. Both emit ‘high-energy’ radiation and are dangerous.
Body scanners have revolutionized the practice of medicine and has saved many lives, but we must question the government’s mandate to have people endure high-energy radiation in a non-life-threatening situation. We must protest the use of full-body scanners on children and young adults as they are at greater-risk of developing brain tumours and cancer from these machines. Cancer and tumours especially in the young will likely increase as more body scanners are being installed on a nationwide scale. There is just no “safe” dose of radiation, 50% of America’s cancers are radiation-induced.
People with medical implants such as pace-makers should also avoid electromagnetic pulse generating body scanners as they can significantly alter the waveform of the pacemaker pulse. This would require me to attend my pacemaker clinic to have the device reset.
The millimetre wave scanners emit a wavelength of ten to one millimetre called a millimetre wave, these waves are considered Extremely High Frequency (EHF), the highest radio frequency wave produced. EHF runs a range of frequencies from 30 to 300 gigahertz, they are also abbreviated mmW. These waves are also known as tetra hertz (THz) radiation. The force generated from tetra hertz waves is small but the waves can ‘unzip’ or tear apart double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the DNA that could interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication.
Clothing and organic materials are translucent in most millimetre-wave bands. Perfect for detecting metal objects on subjects at airports, but not so great at picking up low-density materials such as plastic, chemicals or liquid which were some of the items used by the underwear bomber."
So lets try again.
My question is, Will the full body scanner effect my pacemaker in any way? surly I don't have to spell it out any clearer!!.
Regards
Dave