The T&A has told members of Congress that more than 15 million passengers received full-body scans at airports without any malfunctions that put travelers at risk of an excessive radiation dose.Not that they know of. And never mind the idea that if the radiation doesn't penetrate the skin that it means that the entire dose of radiation is dumped into a very thin layer of skin. No increased risk of melanoma there, of course.
Despite the reassurance, however, the TSA has yet to release radiation inspection reports for its X-ray equipment — two months after lawmakers called for them to be made public following USA TODAY's requests to review the reports.
Maybe the dog ate their homework.
TSA spokesman Kristin Lee says that the agency is still trying to ensure that the reports don't contain any "sensitive security or privacy-protected information" and that she expects they will be released "within the next few weeks."
Why not just have Janet read it?
The chairman of a House oversight committee on homeland defense calls the delays "inexcusable."
Since when does shame stop the T&A?
"The public has a right to know, and there isn't something so sensitive that requires holding it back," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. Chaffetz has sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scans.
Hey, didn't you get the memo? The public only have rights as long as they don't interfere with the state's job of being a nanny.
The TSA's increased use of full-body X-ray scanners sparked traveler concerns last fall about radiation safety. The TSA says the radiation dose is tiny — equivalent to what a person receives during two minutes inside an airplane at cruising altitude.
Somehow, I just don't believe it.
And besides, I'm more worried about my government bloating out of control than I am about dying of skin cancer.