Airport security scanners safe for use

摘要

Airport security scanners are safe for use both as far as the travelling public is concerned and for airline and airport staff who may be exposed more regularly as part of their occupation. This is the conclusion of a report published by a working group of the British Institute of Radiology and the Royal College of Radiologists together with interested UK advisory and regulatory bodies. The group conducted its investigation because, last year, security threats to aircraft led to the installation and testing of whole-body scanning equipment in airports in the UK, other European nations and the USA. But concern was expressed, both in the national press and scientific literature, about the amount of radiation to which travellers might be exposed by these scanners. Currently, there are two types of body scanner being tested in the UK and abroad. First, there are Backscatter X-ray scanners which emit ionising radiation, albeit in a very low dose. Specifically, the 'Rapiscan Secure 1000' is the scanner currently being tested out in the UK.