TSA workers are blaming body scanners for cancer; D.C. public interest group calls for independent reviews

by McLean Robbins on

Workers for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from locations around the country are reporting higher-than-usual rates of cancer, strokes and heart disease amongst employees who work on or near new full-body scanners.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. recently obtained information under the Freedom of Information Act that shows TSA employees at Boston’s Logan International Airport reported a suspected “cancer cluster” to their supervisors, only to have the higher-ups downplay the problem and refuse their request for dosimeters, badges that monitor radiation exposure and are routinely used in other industries where workers come in contact with X-rays and other potentially harmful forms of radiation, states Seattle Weekly.

EPIC has filed a lawsuit to suspend the deployment of body scanners at US airports, pending an independent review.

TSA’s official statement is that they have “implemented stringent safety protocols to ensure that technology used at airports to screen people and property is safe for all passengers, as well as the TSA workforce.”

Still, existing studies cannot confirm or deny that the full body scanners are safe. Are frequent travelers also at risk?

“We’ve said to TSA, ‘If there’s all this info that you have that can show people than they’re not at risk, that the levels are that low, why not share that information?’ It has given employees the idea that if they’re not given the information, there must be something to hide,” said Milly Rodriguez, an occupational health and safety specialist for the American Federation of Government Employees.

Reports from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology–both of which were “publicly characterized” by TSA, according to EPIC–found that the radiation from the scanners could exceed the “general public dose limit.”

Still, proving a direct correlation between radiation emitted from the scanners and cancer or disease in any working population is difficult.

“[Cancer clusters] are very difficult to show,” Rodriguez told Seattle Weekly yesterday. “There are so many things that can cause cancer in a group of workers. They live in same community, so it could be something there. They’re all in similar age groups. It’s just so difficult to isolate the cause.”


[Image via Flickr user Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com]

Does your passport photo still look like you?

by Libby Zay on

My boyfriend got his current passport on his 17th birthday. Now on the verge of his 27th year, the picture inside barely resembles him. He changed and grew as stamps were added, but his passport photo remained the same. His shaggy, teenage hair has morphed into a more clean cut look, and these days his face is looking a little less tan and a little more grown up. But somehow, customs agents are able to look underneath his current five o’clock shadow to recognize he is still the same person he was nearly ten years ago.

Do you still look like the “former you” in your passport? Do you ever get nervous in security lines wondering if the agent will question whether or not your documents are the real deal? A joint photo project called Passport and Reality by Suren Manvelyan and Biayna Mahari that was brought to our attention by Flavorwire is collecting passport photos and comparing them to current looks. Some of the photos are simply bad mug shots, while others show just how much people change over the years. Click through the gallery below to see what I mean: passport photos are on the left, while present-day portraits are on the right.

[Photos courtesy Passport and Reality / Behance Network]

TSA ‘Behavioral Officers’ look for the obvious

by Mike Barish on

Our pals over at AOL Travel are reporting that the TSA has “behavioral indicator officers” who attempt to observe people in security lines to determine if anyone is a security risk. So, if you still think that it’s funny to make bomb jokes while waiting to pass through the x-ray machine, you might want to start working on some new material. The TSA, meanwhile, might want to consider that travel, in general, and airport security, in particular, tend to make even the most docile people uncomfortable. Are the Behavior Detection Officers (that’s the TSA’s official term) keeping us safer or just adding another layer of nuisance to the airport security process?According to the TSA website,

TSA’s BDO-trained security officers are screening travelers for involuntary physical and physiological reactions that people exhibit in response to a fear of being discovered. TSA recognizes that an individual exhibiting some of these behaviors does not automatically mean a person has terrorist or criminal intent. BDOs do, however, help our security officers focus appropriate resources on determining if an individual presents a higher risk or if his/her behavior has a non-threatening origin. Individuals exhibiting specific observable behaviors may be referred for additional screening at the checkpoint to include a handwanding, limited pat down and physical inspection of one’s carry-on baggage. Referrals are based on specific observed behaviors only, not on one’s appearance, race, ethnicity or religion.

You know who exhibits involuntary physical and physiological reactions in response to TSA screenings? A very large segment of the population. Between patting down children, radiating travelers and blatant xenophobia, the TSA hasn’t exactly installed confidence in the general public. So, it’s only natural that completely innocent travelers might exhibit signs of fear while waiting to be screened by poorly trained security agents.

At present, all travelers are presumed guilty until scanned innocent. That makes many people outraged, nervous and downright scared. Will these TSA Behavior Detection Officers be able to differentiate an anxious terrorist and a nervous flier? Seeing as how how the TSA has a history of overstepping its bounds, it’s hard for us to be confident in their profiling skills.

Oh, and there’s that word: profiling. Sure, the TSA statement specifically says that these officers are not looking at anyone’s “appearance, race, ethnicity or religion,” but this still opens the door to sweeping generalizations or assumptions about anyone who simply looks nervous. Some people are so terrified of flying that they start sweating and acting nervously the moment they enter an airport. What happens if you happen to be a dark-skinned, bearded aerophobic? Seems to me that you’ll be singled out and forced to explain to a TSA officer who has singled you out as a risk that you are scared to fly.

What the TSA’s website fails to explain is what types of training these Behavior Detection Officers have received. There are pyschologists who spend their entire careers studying human behaviors and responses to fear. What have these TSA officers been taught? Who taught them?

Terrorists, one would imagine, are psychopaths. People who are detached from reality are more likely to be at peace with their dangerous decisions. A terrorist can act calmly going through security. A nervous flier or a traveler who is offended by be treated like a criminal will exhibit fear. At the end of the day, it seems that the presence of these Behavior Detection Officers will just make more innocent people nervous.

What will these Behavior Detection Officers find? Most likely, a lot of people who are scared to fly, hate the TSA or who just simply have overactive sweat glands.

Travel group promoting Trusted Traveler Program

by Chris Owen on
Should frequent flyers and business travelers get through airports faster than everybody else? Yes! says the U.S. Travel Association who is trying to convince lawmakers that big airport users need special attention.

“Travelers encounter much hassle at our nation’s airports, and it’s time for Congress to act,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “A one size fits all approach to security is inefficient. If Congress implements a trusted traveler program, we’ll see more Americans traveling – and that will create more American jobs.

Called the Trusted Traveler program, the idea is to have those who go travel extensively go through an extensive background check and basically be certified safe to fly. At the airport, the Trusted Traveler would zip through security and have a minimum of checks.

The “Be Trusted” campaign is a national grassroots campaign advocating Congressional implementation of a trusted traveler program. The campaign will include advertisements in newspapers and airports, social media, events at airports, an advocacy website and toll-free number to connect travelers directly with members of Congress, and an online petition.

Flickr photo by redjar

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Echo chainsaw commercial shows TSA at their worst

by Mike Barish on

Echo power tools has a new television ad for their chainsaws that takes some liberties – though some would say not many – with the intimacy of TSA pat downs. The comical commercial features a man passing through airport security being subjected to a fairly aggressive, yet thorough, pat down of his crotch. Meanwhile, inattentive agents allow his chainsaw to pass through the X-ray machine undetected. He comments that, while he’s willing to put up with a lot of things, he requires that his chainsaw be reliable.

Is the commercial an exaggeration of how handsy TSA agents get during pat downs? Some would argue that they’ve seen way more ridiculous things happen at airport security checkpoints. All in all, it’s a pretty funny and topical ad.

What do you think? Is this a parody of what really happens during TSA pat downs or is it close to accurate? Share your thoughts in the comments.