Backscatter X-ray machines may or may not be carcinogenic. The European Union isn’t taking any chances, but the TSA is so confident in their safety that it likely won’t conduct the additional tests it promised the US Senate.
“Backscatter” X-ray machines, which bombard your body with radiation at the airport, are a subject of controversy in the US. Not in Europe, Mother Jones reports — the machines are now banned throughout the entire EU over cancer risks. Good.
The SUNY Downstate Medical Center has again been caught executing irresponsible X-ray scans of premature babies, who are extremely vulnerable to the radiation’s dangerous effects. State inspectors say the scans were conducted without proper shielding, the second rash since 2007.
