Airport body scanners 'could give you cancer', warns expert
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:25 AM on 30th June 2010
Full body scanners at airports could increase your risk of skin cancer, experts warn.
機場全身掃描儀可能會增加你的皮膚癌風險，專家警告。
The X-ray machines have been brought in at Manchester, Gatwick and Heathrow.
But scientists say radiation from the scanners has been underestimated and could be particularly risky for children.
X光機已被引入曼徹斯特、蓋特威克機場和希思羅機場。但科學家們說，掃描儀的輻射已被低估，及可能對兒童特別危險。
They say that the low level beam does deliver a small dose of radiation to the body but because the beam concentrates on the skin - one of the most radiation-sensitive organs of the human body - that dose may be up to 20 times higher than first estimated.
他們說低水平光束確對身體傳送一小劑量的輻射，但因為光束集中在皮膚 - 人體的 一個最輻射敏感的器官- 那劑量可能比最先估計高達 20倍。
An airport staff member demonstrates a full body scan at Manchester Airport. Now a U.S expert has said the X-Ray may deliver a higher radiation dose to the skin than first thought一名機場工作人員在曼徹斯特機場演示一次全身掃描。現在一美國專家說，X-射線比初想的可以傳送一更高的輻射劑量至皮膚
Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University's centre for radiological research, said although the danger posed to the individual passenger is 'very low', he is urging researchers to carry out more tests on the device to look at the way it affects specific groups who could be more sensitive to radiation.
He says children and passengers with gene mutations - around one in 20 of the population - are more at risk as they are less able to repair X-ray damage to their DNA.
Dr Brenner, who is originally from Liverpool but now works at the New York university, said: 'The individual risks associated with X-ray backscatter scanners are probably extremely small.
'If all 800 million people who use airports every year were screened with X-rays then the very small individual risk multiplied by the large number of screened people might imply a potential public health or societal risk. The population risk has the potential to be significant.'
Following trials, the airport scanners were officially introduced at Manchester Airport in January, at Heathrow Terminal 4 in February and at Gatwick in May this year.
The most likely risk from the airport scanners is a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma, according to the academic.
The cancer is usually curable and often occurs in the head and neck of people aged between 50 and 70. He points out it would be difficult to hide a weapon on the head or neck so proposes missing out that part of the body from the scanning process.
'If there are increases in cancers as a result of irradiation of children, they would most likely appear some decades in the future. It would be prudent not to scan the head and neck,' he added.
He recently aired his concerns to the Congressional Biomedical Caucus in the US - members of Congress who meet to exchange ideas on medical research.
Dr Brenner urged them to look at his concerns but said it was important to balance any health issues against passengers' safety when flying.
He said: 'There really is no other technology around where we're planning to X-ray such an enormous number of individuals. It's really unprecedented in the radiation world.'
The Civil Aviation Authority said the radiation received from the scanning process is the equivalent to two minutes radiation received on a Transatlantic flight民航管理局表示，從掃描過程收到的輻射是等於兩分鐘的輻射，從跨大西洋航班收到的
The Civil Aviation Authority, Department for Transport and Health Protection Agency insist that the technology is safe and say their tests show it would take 5,000 trips through the scanner to equal the dose of a single chest X-ray.
They said in the climate of high security, it is essential that security staff use 'all means possible' to minimise risks to airline security.
The CAA said: 'The device has been approved for use within the UK by the Department for Transport and has been subjected to risk assessments from the Health Protection Agency.
'To put the issue in perspective, the radiation received from the scanning process is the equivalent to two minutes radiation received on a Transatlantic flight.
'Recent press publications have been a little alarmist and may have heightened concern in frequent travellers who may worry about their repeated exposure.
'Under current regulations, up to 5,000 scans per person per year can be conducted
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1290527/Airport-body-scanners-deliver-radiation-dose-20-times-higher-thought.html
東京機場引入全身透視掃描
(明報)2010年7月5日 星期一 14:35
日本 首次在機場引入「全身透視掃描」，今日起在東京 成田國際機場以電磁波，對乘客進行透視檢查。
共同社報道，有關儀器今日在第一航站樓南翼的保安檢查站試用。
在測試中，一名調查員攜帶模擬爆炸裝置通過安檢設備，以檢測儀器的感知能力。此外，試驗人員還將邀請乘客配合測試，並聽取他們的感想。
掃描設備由美國 L3公司開發研製，能將實際的人體影像，轉換為與之類似的模型。
在今年9月10日前，當局共將測試5種掃描儀，其中包括能清晰顯示人體實際曲線的機型，因此個人隱私的保護也是一大問題。（共同社）
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/100705/4/j04d.html
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執法部門會逮捕公民選擇退出全身掃描儀和打擾的帕特唐斯
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