<p>do not forget to remind your kids who are flying to and from school for the thanksgiving holiday to "opt out" of the TSA body scanners. issues of dignity and civil rights aside, these machines are untested for radioactive safety . the tsa saying trust us, they are safe is not good enough! these machines will quietly disappear over the next several years. (some have already been "relocated" to a warehouse in TX) just like agent orange was safe back in the 1960's, these machines are "safe"</p>
<p>Agree wholeheartedly!</p>
<p>And for those who have your doubts, err on the side of caution. I’m probably too old for a little radiation here or there to make much of a difference . . . but for a college student with many years ahead of them, it matters.</p>
<p>What happens if you “opt out”?
I went thru a scanner recently. Didn’t think I could refuse.
I’d rather not have a “pat down.”</p>
<p>You can absolutely refuse, and you’ll absolutely get a pat down. But given the inherent unreliability of the full body scanners, submitting to a scan in no way guarantees that you won’t have to submit to a pat down anyway.</p>
<p>I have to get a pat down every single time no matter what because the decoration on the back pockets of my jeans always set something off in the machine. In Seattle they didn’t like that my hair was in a ponytail for some reason, either, they needed to check that out. I have to wonder why I bother going through the machine anyway at this point.</p>
<p>you can always opt out.on a side note always be polite but never allow the tsa to bully you.</p>
<p>The TSA pulled all backscatter machines due to various issues not related to health (including, for example, the fact they wouldn’t fit in some airports). None are in service. The body scanners being used have a different technology. And that technology has been proven safe. It’s basically radio waves.</p>
<p>I have always opted out and had a patdown at EVERY airport since they started using these danged full-body machines. The patdown isn’t really so bad–it’s just finding a female TSA staff person who will do it without making you wait a long time while they free her up to do so. There always seem to be a lot more males than females.</p>
<p>I will try to remind D again not to go through the full-body scanner and am hoping S doesn’t either. Can’t know for sure whether they listen to me, but sure hope S does because he flies so very much with over 150,000 miles already this year.</p>
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<p>My understanding that that they’ve decommissioned some, but not all, of the backscatter machines.</p>
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<p>Proven safe? No, I believe it would be more accurate to say that they have not yet been proven unsafe . . . only because no long-term studies have yet been done. Their safety is simply unknown. (Unlike radiation, which we kinda sorta already know isn’t good for us in large quantities.)</p>
<p>Personally, I’m pretty worried about all the exposure by the TSA employees who are pretty close to those machines so much, for so long. Wonder how much radiation leaks and exposes them. Anyway, good & timely reminder again.</p>
<p>Just saw this useful summary. It’s the blue-box machines that are more worrisome from a radiation safety issue, though both types of machines have privacy issues. [For</a> those about to opt-out: a TSA scanning machine cheat-sheet - Boing Boing](<a href=“http://boingboing.net/2012/11/21/for-those-about-to-opt-out-no.html]For”>For those about to opt-out: a TSA scanning machine cheat-sheet | Boing Boing)</p>