The Truth About TSA Testing Technology for Radiation

Unfortunately, yesterday’s LA Times story missed the mark and you may have seen a few additional inaccurate stories in the news claiming that TSA was buying equipment to test for radiation exposure. Truth is, we continuously test all of the technology we use and post the results to our website for all to see.

Why the confusion you might ask? TSA routinely puts out Requests for Information (RFI) that are basically market research, asking industry to tell us what else is out there. In this case, TSA put out an RFI to gather information on available tools to continue to monitor our technologies. This is simply designed to ask industry what new technology might be available.

Testing our equipment and exposure to employees is not new. TSA routinely monitors radiation levels to ensure the safety of both passengers and our workforce. We've never found any radiation concerns and the safety reports can be accessed publicly at TSA.gov. TSA made a commitment to post new reports as they're completed to our website so passengers can see for themselves that the machines are meeting safety standards.

Based on all of our previous testing, as well as monitoring from independent sources, we’re confident that all of our equipment meets national safety standards, and is safe for all passengers and our workforce.

As far as another backscatter (body scanner) test is concerned, TSA is committed to working with Congress to explore options for an additional study to further prove these machines are safe. All tests so far, have shown they are well within the national safety standards and each scan is equivalent to the exposure one receives during approximately 2 min of flight.  

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team 

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

In Case You Were Wondering, Our Backscatter Imaging Technology Is Still Safe

The safety of our Backscatter Advanced Imaging Technology is being called in to question again. As I’ve done before on this topic, I’m going to simply provide a bulleted list of facts and links. Also, if you haven’t heard yet, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole told Congress last week that we’re going to have another independent safety study on our Backscatter imaging technology.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center of Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) both verified that the advanced imaging technology (AIT) equipment TSA purchased and deployed emits radiation at rates much lower than the limits set in the national radiation safety standard for all members of the traveling public and all TSA employees.  

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab assessment included several recommendations to continue to ensure the highest standard of safety and health. TSA has successfully completed each recommendation.  
A backscatter scan is equivalent to amount of naturally occurring radiation received during two minutes of flying at altitude.  

In addition to these independent studies validating the safety of imaging technology, TSA also conducts site acceptance testing of AIT units upon installation in airports to ensure each individual AIT unit meets safety standards.  Once installed, preventive maintenance is regularly performed by qualified personnel.  

Certified health physicists from the U.S. Army Public Health Command are also performing additional radiation safety surveys to ensure continued compliance with radiation safety standards.  

In early 2011, TSA posted radiation surveys for every backscatter imaging technology unit deployed in U.S. airports. The reports confirm that every backscatter unit currently used for passenger screening in U.S. airports is operating well within applicable national safety standards.  

TSAposts reports for all radiation tests, including the annual TSA-mandated testof every X-ray based technology, on TSA’s website as they are completed.  

Accordingto CBS News, MIT’s leading radiation safety experts and experts from the HealthPhysics Society, drinking three glasses of water a day for a year might giveyou a cumulative exposure of about 0.045 millirems, that's at least five timesmore than the dose from an airport scanner and well beneath the 10,000 milliremline where there is danger. According to Francis Marre, former director ofradiation safety at MIT, “There is no known risk” from being scanned.  

SanFrancisco Weekly story on backscatter technology.  

HealthPhysics Society’s FAQ: “ Safety for Security Screening Using Devices ThatExpose Individuals to Ionizing Radiation.  

FDA FAQ page: “Products for Security Screening of People”.  

SFWeekly article featuring leading radiologists refuting safety claims by UCSFprofessors.  

National standard for one backscatter scan: 0.025 millirem (two and a half one-hundreths of a millirem) per scan.  

TSA’s backscatter systems maximum possible radiation emission: 0.005 millirem (five one-thousandths of a millirem) scan.  

TSA’s backscatter systems actual emission: generally less than 0.0025 millirem (two and a half one-thousandths of a millirem) per scan.  

Advanced imaging technology screening is safe for passengers, including pregnant women and children. One backscatter technology scan produces the same exposure as approximately two minutes of flying on an airplane. Advanced imaging technology is optional for all passengers.

Blogger Bob Burns  

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

 

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TSA Cancer Cluster Myth Buster

This is old news, but it’s back in the news and since it’s such an important topic, we wanted to address it again to alleviate any concerns it might be causing.

Myth: There is a TSA employee cancer cluster at the Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) related to the backscatter body scanners.

Fact:  There is no relationship between any cancer diagnoses in Boston and the technology in the airport. (Based on a survey by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). In fact, there were no body scanners at BOS when the complaints were filed.

I blogged about this back in May, but all of our X-ray technology (backscatter body scanners, and all baggage scanners) has been tested and retested and our scanners are operating safely. You can actually take a look at the reports and read about how we test the machines here. 

Common Questions: 

Q: Why aren’t your officers permitted to wear dosimeters? 

 

A: There is a really good reason for this. The emissions from our X-ray technology are well below the requirements that would require their routine usage. To  help reassure passengers and employees that the technology is safe, however, health physicists with the U.S. Army have been conducting area dosimeter surveys at multiple airports nationwide.

Q: Why doesn’t TSA allow third party testing for the backscatter technology?

A: We have. Independent third party testing and analyses of TSA backscatter technology have been conducted by the U.S. Army Public Health Command, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). They all came to the same conclusion by the way. It’s safe…

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

The Radiation Retest Results are In: Scanners Operating Safely

Remember how we told you in this post that there had been some errors in our reports and we were going to retest all of our AIT units to ensure they were screening at safe levels? Well, we’re done, and everything came back just fine. You can see all the reports here just as we promised. You can read a recent Reuters article on the subject and while you’re reading up on the subject, be sure to take a look at an article from the Archives of Internal Medicine, co-authored by a UCSF scientist concluding that there is no significant threat of radiation from the scans.

To put things in perspective, here are some sources of radiation you may not have been aware of: 

• One year of naturally occurring background radiation: 300 millirem 
• Annual recommended limit to the public of radiation from man-made sources: 100 millirem
• Chest X-ray: 10 millirem 
• Flight from New York to Los Angeles: 4 millirem 
• One day of natural background: approximately 1 millirem (corrected 3/16/11 20:56)
• Drinking three glasses of water a day for a year: 0.045 millirem
• One backscatter X-ray scan: Approximately 0.005 millirem 

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

 

Archives of Internal Medicine on TSA Backscatter: “There is no significant threat of radiation from the scans.”

It’s no secret that Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) has been a hot topic ever since we first wrote about in 2008. While we’ve posted many times on the subject, readers often want to hear from independent third parties to see what their take is. That’s understandable.  So, as we’ve  done in the past, we’re going to highlight another piece on backscatter safety from a third party.

This report comes to you from the Archives of Internal Medicine. In the report, they conclude that there is no significant risk from the radiation emitted during the scans. You can read the full report here:  

Airport Full-Body Screening: What Is the Risk?

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

 

TSA Scanner Levels 10x Higher Than Expected?

I recently posted about mistakes made in radiation testing reports. Since then, I’ve seen a lot of chatter on the web about how our advanced imaging technology (AIT) backscatter machines were operating at higher levels. While there were errors in the reporting, please rest assured that our body scanners were still screening well below national standards.

For those of you who like to get into the weeds, the “10x higher” issue stems from a field on the survey form that was not divided by 10 as the survey specified. So, the amount was incorrectly reported as 10x higher than it was supposed to be, not 10x higher than the requirement. So, how did we know the number in the third example was inaccurate? That’s an easy one. The machines are incapable of operating at those levels. They’re designed that way… Like the protection a circuit breaker provides to a home, the AIT machines contain safety systems that prevent the production of radiation levels in excess of federally established limits.

You can read the post I mentioned above about how we’re going to retest all of the machinery and post the results on a special section of our web page.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

TSA Releases Radiation Testing Reports

TSA’s mission of keeping the traveling public safe is carried out at more than 450 airports across the U.S. and its territories. A large part of keeping the public safe includes using the best technology available. Some of the screening technologies use X-ray technology, such as backscatter imaging technology, multi-view advanced technology X-rays, explosive detection systems, and single projection X-ray systems to screen baggage. TSA has implemented stringent safety protocols to ensure the technology used at airports is safe. 

While these machines improve our ability to stay ahead of threats to aviation security,  it’s also important that we’re doing everything we can to ensure our technology is safe for passengers and our officers.

How do we do this? Well, in addition to radiation testing of the machine before it leaves the factory, and again once it is installed at an airport, TSA requires manufacturers and/or third party maintenance providers to test each machine routinely to make sure the radiation emitted falls within applicable standards. Additionally, radiation tests are performed after any maintenance that could impact the X-ray emissions and if the unit is ever relocated from its initial installation position.

By conducting ongoing radiation tests throughout the life of the technology, TSA is going above and beyond regulatory standards to ensure passengers and operators are not being exposed to excessive radiation doses. 

To increase our transparency – and to let you see for yourself that the technology is safe – we will be posting all future radiation reports online. You can see where they’ll be posted here. 

As we prepared to take this step, and to verify our safety procedures, TSA recently selected 15 airports of varying sizes and reviewed reports generated from testing X-ray technologies at these airports over the last two years. You can also find all of those reports here. 

The reports confirm that each piece of technology included in the review operated well-within applicable the national safety standards.

TSA did not alter or edit the reports. Names were redacted to protect privacy and several pages were incorrectly marked as SSI, but other than that, the reports are there, warts and all.

Warts? Well, while looking over these reports, we found some inaccuracies in contractor reporting that affected the documentation of some of the test results.

• Lack of notation for the latest calibration date for the machine being tested or the most recent calibration date noted had expired on survey meters
• Information missing regarding warning labels and other required labels on machines
• Calculation errors not impacting safety
• Missing survey point readings (e.g., If the test procedure required 13 points around the machine to be tested, in some cases, readings for only 11 points were reported)
• Inconsistent responses to survey questions
• No reading of background radiation noted
• Missing other non-measurement related information 

While these inaccuracies didn’t impact the overall assessment that the technology is safe, they are still unacceptable. We took immediate steps to hold contractors accountable and fix the mistakes, and are taking additional measures to build on the robust safety protocols currently in place, by:

• Requiring re-testing of all backscatter advanced imaging technology units in airports, as well as all technology with inaccurate reports, by the end of March 2011;
• Requiring contractors to re-train personnel involved in conducting and overseeing the radiation survey process;
• Requesting the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) re-evaluate TSA’s safety program and update its 2008 report;
• Expanding an existing partnership with the U.S. Army Public Health Command to conduct additional independent radiation surveys and radiation safety compliance audits at airports equipped with X-ray based technologies;
• Increasing TSA oversight on the overall radiation survey and documentation process; and
• Ensuring all appropriate contractual remedies are considered and implemented, as necessary, in the event that radiation inspections are incomplete or delinquent.
• Also, every machine using X-ray technology that is deployed in an airport will have a new radiation test conducted within the next 12 months.
• Administrator Pistole has also directed TSA to commission an independent entity to evaluate these protocols.
• To provide additional transparency, TSA is posting all reports currently being conducted – and, as I said above, all future radiation reports – at www.tsa.gov as they’re completed.

To put things in perspective, here are some sources of radiation you may not have been aware of:

• One year of naturally occurring background radiation: 300 millirem 
• Annual recommended limit to the public of radiation from man-made sources: 100 millirem
• Chest X-ray: 10 millirem 
• Flight from New York to Los Angeles: 4 millirem 
• One day of natural background: 0.1 approximately 1 millirem (corrected 3/16/11 20:56)
• Drinking three glasses of water a day for a year: 0.045 millirem
• One backscatter X-ray scan: Approximately 0.005 millirem 

Source: Radiation dose comparisons from the Health Physics Society and other safety experts.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

Facts on TSA X-ray Safety

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) uses X-ray technology on people and baggage daily in an effort to find items that could cause catastrophic damage to an aircraft. Some are asking how safe this technology is how and how we maintain it to ensure there is no excessive radiation exposure for workers or the traveling public. So, I’d like to use this post to address those questions with facts provided by TSA’s director of occupational safety, health and environment, Jill Segraves. 

·     Before TSA decides to use a new technology, procurement specifications are developed that include requirements to meet the national radiation safety standard. The requirements are validated by manufacturers through third party testing or through testing arranged by TSA, to ensure it meets national safety standards. 

·     After deciding to use new technology that has proven to be safe and meets applicable standards, the manufacturer then will conduct validation tests on each individual unit in the factory during their quality assurance process before the unit is shipped to TSA. 

·     For the carry-on and checked baggage x-ray systems and the general-use backscatter advanced imaging technology equipment, the factory tests, post-installation tests and regular preventive maintenance mentioned above all include radiation safety surveys.  These surveys verify that each unit operates within specifications, is installed correctly and continues operating according to specifications for the life of the unit. When the technology operates as designed, the dose to any member of the general public, system operators, or other employees falls well below the national standard for safety.  

·     The regular preventive maintenance checks, including radiation safety surveys, are performed at least once every 12 months; after any maintenance that affects the radiation shielding, shutter mechanism, or x-ray production components; after any incident that may have damaged the system; after a system is moved or at the request of any employee. 

·     In addition, TSA partnered with the U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) to conduct independent radiation surveys and inspections to confirm the regular testing performed by TSA. Health Physicists from the the U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) perform the surveys and inspections. 

·     The Public Health Command’s Health Physicists also check the indicators, controls, labeling, and observe system operators to ensure proper operating procedures are followed.  The Health Physicists are also gathering area radiation dose data by mounting dosimeters within the inspection zone (that area only occupied by the individual undergoing the screening and delineated by the yellow bordered floor mat) on  certain equipment. 

·     Over the past two years, Health Physicists performed radiation surveys and inspections of 437 carry-on luggage and checked baggage systems at 34 airports during screening operations, and observed system operation and work practices.  The Health Physicists work has thus far confirmed TSA testing that shows all of these systems operating well within safety standards.

·     On top of all these steps, more than 1,100 TSOs at six airports have participated in a mandatory personal radiation dosimetry study over the past year.  The results of both the dosimetry study and other surveys to date reveal that TSA systems are in compliance with safety standards.

On a related note, a study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the Centers for Disease Control just a year after TSA was stood up in the aftermath of 9/11 (between August 2003 and August 2004) has been getting some attention recently. The study came about after TSA requested it when management and other employees expressed concerns about their safety on the job. NIOSH looked at the levels of radiation emissions from Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) and evaluated employee exposure to radiation at airports during baggage screening.

Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) from 12 airports were highly engaged in this study. They chose the airports to include in the study, provided valuable input, and assisted the NIOSH researchers during the on-site surveys. The report was released on October 1, 2008. You can read the report here.  NIOSH made several recommendations that TSA has since implemented.

Some of the information below duplicates some of the information I mentioned previously but I am including it here to show steps taken since the completion of the study in 2004:

·     TSA has implemented key recommendations from NIOSH, including formalizing a comprehensive radiation safety program to meet OSHA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requirements and evaluating TSO radiation exposure levels at selected airports through an additional year-long dosimetry study that commenced in April 2009.

·     TSA took additional steps to ensure safe working conditions for our workforce, including:

·     Adding EDS safety training to baggage screening courses;

·     Increasing the number of service technicians equipped with radiation survey meters;

·     Improving maintenance through more stringent maintenance contracts;

·     Working with EDS manufacturers to improve machine design;

·     Providing annual radiation safety awareness training for all TSOs; and

·     Using Safety Action Teams, Collateral Duty Safety Officers (CDSOs), and Employee Councils to improve health and safety communications between employees and management.

·     Consistent with the recommendations of NIOSH, each piece of TSA equipment that uses ionizing radiation undergoes an initial radiation survey upon installation and an annual radiation survey to ensure it stays in top working condition.  In addition, radiation surveys are performed after maintenance on components that affect radiation safety and at the request of employees. This provides a continuous level of safety.

·     Over the past two years, Health Physicists from the U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) performed radiation surveys and inspections of 437 (carry-on luggage and checked baggage systems) at 34 airports during screening operations while items were entering and exiting systems with the leaded curtains constantly in motion.   The Health Physicists also observed system operation and safe work practices.  Over the past year, more than 1,100 TSOs at six airports have participated in a mandatory personal radiation dosimetry study.  The results of both the dosimetry study and surveys to date reveal that TSA systems are in compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s standard for cabinet x-ray systems emission limits.

This is a lot of information to read through, but after reading, I’m sure you’ll find that TSA is doing its part to ensure the safety of its employees and the traveling public.

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team