Originally Posted by
cardiomd
For example (in my field that I'm intimately familiar with) if there were unexplained geiger counts in our nuclear cardiology lab, the whole lab would most definitely be shut down until the radioactive material spill was located and cleaned. We would most likely be fined and have JCAHO and OSHA headaches for years, even if the spill was not significant to human life (say, one dose of tracer spilled somewhere). We would be penalized and audited for the future as it shows a sloppiness that is inexcusable.
The TSA has not shown that they audit the performance of these machines, or even demonstrated real-world third party data regarding output measurements in production units with effects on living tissue. Systematic low-dose irradiation of humans is not something to be taken lightly.
I'm an engineer, not in the medical field, but I have to have annual radiation safety training simply to work in a materials characterization lab where there is a SEM and a real time x-ray inspection system. There is additional training to actually use the equipment. Our RSO (radiation safety officer) does monthly audits with the Geiger counter and the state comes in to inspect annually. We have an array of radiation monitors in the lab and those monitors are calibrated annually. The x-ray has interlocks and the SEM basically can't operate in an unsafe condition (it would burn out the filament). I worked in that lab while pregnant and neither I or my obstetrician had any concerns over radiation safety.
Do the TSOs at my local airport with the backscatter machines (which are virtually never used) have annual radiation safety training? Are they even capable of explaining the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation? Do they have a radiation safety officer monitoring the equipment for their safety and that of the traveling public? How are these backscatter machines calibrated, how often, and by what lab?
I suspect I know the answers to these questions, and I don't like those answers. Privacy concerns aside, I will not use a device that emits ionizing radiation if it's not operated by a physician or a licensed radiology tech.