Lack of manpower during some parts of the day does not allow us time to batch or swipe a single bag to only put it back on the belt.

Lack of manpower is no excuse for doing a job improperly.

The Brits are doing it.
 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...348172,00.html

AN X-RAY machine that sees through air passengers’ clothes has been deployed by security staff at London’s Heathrow airport for the first time.
The device at Terminal 4 produces a “naked” image of passengers by bouncing X-rays off their skin, enabling staff instantly to spot any hidden weapons or explosives.

For the screeners worried about the exposure:

When I previously worked with radiation I was given a dosimeter (aka "radiation badge") to measure the amount of radiation I was exposed to over time. If you are seriously worried about the exposure, you should request one. Or get your own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosimeter

Thanks for sharing the above, TSAMGR.

I haven't been at Heathrow T4 since March of this year but I will be using Heathrow T4 late this week & again next week.

I wouldn't mind giving the machine a trial, especially if I can see the image, but I somehow doubt I'll alarm the WTMD -- and even if I did they would probably resolve it with the wand (I haven't alarmed a WTMD lately, but last time I did it was because I left a couple of coins in my pocket accidently).

FYI: Heathrow's Terminal 4 is exclusive to British Airways International flights and KLM. I am not sure if LHR T4 has any other users (?). I'll be flying KLM on the Amsterdam - London route, thus my upcoming use of LHR T4.

Best,

SDF_Traveler

Okay, I'm going way out on a limb here, because I wish the world would get rid of all intrusive airport screening. But if I were forced to make a choice between the naked image or being touched on my sexual areas by strangers, well, uh, I might choose to be seen naked. At least that way I can pretend it's not happening. I can imagine that the naked machine is really just a metal detector and avoid picturing the person who's staring at my nakedness.

It's much harder to suspend disbelief and imagine that there's not really someone manhandling my breasts. Believe me, I've tried.

A good point; something to add is that it is possible to get hand dosimeters--you wear them like a ring and they measure exposure to the hand. That may useful if the primary concern is exposure to the arms/hands from handling bags entering/exiting possibly-malfunctioning x-ray machines rather than general body exposure.

TSA with the manufactures are working on a mask which would have a general outline of a body.

The TSA has deemed that dosimeters are not warranted for screeners.

IMO, some guy in a suit in DC probably decided that dosimeters are not warranted. But what happens five years from now when the frontline TSA folks start glowing in the dark?? There's no way to tell how this radiation is going to affect people until a long-term study is done. And then it'll be too late for the original folks.
Seems to me that if it's my butt working by X-Ray equipment, I'd get a hold of one of these if I had to pay for it out of my pocket.

Hey, I am saving money on haircuts and electric bills :D

Here is a page the CDC put up addressing the specific topic http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/airportscreener/

"Manhandling?"

Mark Arsenault
Screeners Central