How much does a dosimeter cost?

*floating an idea here*

In the spirit of Christmas merged with the spirit of protest, herewith a modest proposal: What if Christmas travelers were to gift their attending TSO with a dosimeter for his/her own protection?

The milk of human kindness CAN be smuggled into the airport. Further, what better way to make a point than through unexpected magnanimity?

Your thoughts?

Interesting. Didn't realize they were this expensive (about $60-70 each).

http://www.stanforddosimetry.com/Bad...ce/prices.html

TSA says the Backscatter Porno-Viewers are perfectly safe.

That being the case, I say let the TSA screeners fry!

Ah, but what more powerful way of proclaiming that they are NOT safe than putting a little money into the proclamation? Such a gift would speak volumes and would certainly generate much pondering by the TSOs, who should be giving this some serious thought.

My mom will be flying over the Christmas holiday. With any luck she can get through ONT without a Full-Body X-Ray Machine experience, but returning from Dulles she is certainly going to encounter one. I'm going to buy a dosimeter for her to give the TSO she finds there.

Do you think the TSA will let the TSO keep it and wear it? Or will it be confiscated?

I can see it someday in the hospital records:

Medical Impression: Mr. Jones is a 55yo male undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy for metatstatic adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Social History: Patient is now on disability after having worked as a TSA screener for approximately 20 years.

Nurse #1: "Hey Betty - did you see this? Mr. Jones used to work for the TSA. I wonder if those X-ray machines had anything to do with this? Oh by the way, can you give him his morphine?"

Nurse #2 - "TSA? Hmmm. Yeah sure Laura I'll give him his morphine when I get back from lunch. He can wait."

Horrible, but you never know what kind of payback people are capable of.

Jihad against the TSOs? What on earth would that prove? And it would only provoke yet more retaliation, which is where this whole mess started in the first place.

I see great power in the spirit of Christmas.

Not saying it would prove anything. Just saying that you would be amazed at what some people will do to others if they think they can get away with it. Look at TSA as a prime example.

I know. You are right. And I agree.
But I see a gift of a dosimeter as a powerful statement of opposition.

Oh I agree Wind. It sends a strong message and show's how charitable we can be even in the face out outright abuse.

AFAIK, the last observation report says ONT doesn't even have scanners yet, and even if they do it would have been installed last week and nobody would have been trained on it yet anyway.

Thanks, ghostrider. Mom is concerned about it. She's been asking me what to do. Here's a recent communication I sent her:

"Mom,

I am very, very proud of you that at 96 you are still flying, alone, across country. And I understand that you want to be in Virginia for Ali�s wedding this June, and that you want to fly to D.C. for Christmas. But I need to give you a heads-up here.

The drill has changed. No longer will struggling to remove your shoes be enough. No longer will surrendering your nutritional yogurt, because it�s a liquid, be enough. No longer will it be sufficient to give them your nice diamond nail file because you might threaten the flight crew with it.

This time you have a choice: you can submit to x-ray screening of your full body, or you can submit to a finger check of your breasts and genitals. I am not making this up.

Now, I know that you have a history of skin cancers on your face, but I still recommend that you go through the x-ray machine. Because if you choose the alternative, they WILL go through your panties, and they WILL object�trust me, I know these people�if you ask them to at least use a new glove, not the one they used for the person right ahead of you. Herpes you don�t need; at least basal cell carcinoma is curable with surgery.

There�s no plea bargaining on this one. They don�t care that our whole family was under the security microscope back when Dad was Research Group Leader at Cal-Tech, developing a part of the Manhattan Project. They don�t care that more than one member of our family still works for a highly responsible branch of the government. They don�t care that you are a 96-year-old great-grandmother simply trying to see your loved ones.

You will submit or you won�t fly. Pistole has said so. Napolitano has said so.

But it will get worse, I guarantee you. Wait until some swarthy stranger decides to blow himself up, mid-air, with a bomb up his rear.

Your loving daughter"

Nevertheless, I am still going to buy a dosimeter for her to give the Dulles TSO who stands beside the Full-Body X-Ray Machine. In the spirit of Christmas and of opposition to all this insanity.

And this is undoubtedly the reason they are refusing to issue them to TSOs. It would cost waaay too much to protect these workers. Especially since, I believe I've read, the attrition rate for TSOs is 50% per year.

Frankly, anyone who works for an organization that buys hundreds of x-ray machines without maintenance agreements to keep them properly calibrated, works <3 feet away from being bombarded with radiation for hours at a time, doesn't get their own dosimeter (since the organization refuses to issue them), and just trusts that they're safe - well, they're not very smart, are they?

I'm sorry, but as upset and angry as I am about all this, I wouldn't spent $60-70 for a "gift" for someone I don't know. Why the TSOs aren't up in arms over this is a total mystery.

"Why the TSOs aren't up in arms over this is a total mystery."

My modest proposal is an attempt to start them thinking and GET them up in arms.

You might want to let your mom know that just choosing to go through the strip search scanner doesn't mean she won't also get an invasive pat-down afterward.

If TSA doesn't care enough about its employees to allow the wearing of dosimeters and TSA employees don't have enough self respect to either demand to wear a dosimeter or walk off then just why do you care?

If I found myself in an unsafe or questionable situation I would change my situation regardless and I would expect government employees to do the same.

Let 'em fry!