Lawmakers step in on airport X ray radiation exposure issue

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDDec 6 2010

In a bid to protect passengers from radiation exposure, members of Congress are calling on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to release inspection reports that would show whether airport X-ray machines that screen passengers and bags are meeting requirements to emit only low levels of radiation. There have been doubts in the recent past that the X-ray machines are not properly monitored and maintained and when the TSA refused to clarify, the lawmakers have stepped in.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., asked the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general to investigate the effectiveness of the TSA’s X-ray inspection program for full-body scanners saying in a letter Monday to the inspector general, “I am concerned that TSA’s past history in this area… could lead to unintentional exposures to radiation of both TSA employees and members of the public.” Peter Rez, a physics professor at Arizona State University added, “Mechanical things break down,” and need regular upkeep and maintenance. He said if simply the machine used on passengers malfunctions and the X-ray scanning beam stops on one part of the body for an extended time, it could be serious and lead to radiation burns.

TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball assured, “All radiation surveys conducted to date have found radiation emissions to be below the applicable national standard.” Federal regulations require X-ray machines that screen bags to emit less than 0.5 millirem an hour. Currently, there are 221 backscatter X-ray machines to screen passengers at 39 airports. According to the TSA, each scan delivers a radiation dose of less than 0.01 millirem. In a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the TSA and its maintenance contractors failed to detect when some X-ray machines used on baggage emitted radiation beyond what regulations allow. It showed that some machines were missing protective lead curtains or had safety features disabled by TSA employees with duct tape, paper towels and other materials.

Jill Segraves, the TSA’s director of occupational safety in reply said that after the CDC study things have changed. At present she said, TSA uses a different maintenance contractor, services machines monthly and trains employees to identify and report potential safety problems. In reply to fresh questions from lawmakers Kimball said the TSA will try to make recent inspection reports available after scrutinizing them for sensitive information.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the top Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee over federal workforce issues assured that he would pursue the case and said, “It should send some flashing red lights when they won’t allow the public to review that data.”

Milly Rodriguez, occupational health and safety specialist at the American Federation of Government Employees said, “We don’t think the agency is sharing enough information… Radiation just invokes a lot of fear.”