“Have a safe flight!” That is the message that most hear just before boarding their planes to wherever they may be traveling. This is understandable, because in this day and time, public transportation such as flying can be scary. But with the help of security devices like X-Ray scanners, flying has become a little safer. These scanners help make sure that no weapons or hazardous items are lurking underneath the passenger’s clothes. This device I’m speaking of is called a “backscatter” X-Ray screening device. The number of airports that use these instead of the traditional magnetic field were once a large number, and even seemed to be getting larger, but are unfortunately thought to soon be extinct. Why, might you ask, are these devices given their …show more content…
But fortunately, they have been proven to be pretty safe overall. One use of a backscatter scan has an estimated dosage of 0.01 microrems, (although, as I will explain later, the number of microrems varies in each backscatter scanner. Sievert’s (Sv) are used in the International System of Units to describe the effective radiation dose. One Sievert is equal to one hundred rem’s.,) while your typical chest X-Ray has a dosage of 10 microrems! The recommended maximum number of backscatter scans performed on a passenger annually is 22,500 scans. According to ScienceDaily.com, people are actually exposed to more radiation while waiting in line for their backscatter scan than during the actual scan itself! Of course, as I mentioned before, it is hard to put an exact number of microrems on the devices, because each vary. Some scanners, such as the one at Pittsburgh’s airport, were proven through inspections to produce 3.9 microrems, while another scanner in Ohio showed a screening of 3.4 microrems. But, nonetheless, the scanners are still believed to be safe for passengers taking