A trip through airport security is set to become even more revealing, as an EU report has deemed “naked” body scanners to be safe.
The scanners could become commonplace at airports throughout the UK and Europe after tests conducted by the European Commission (EC) allayed fears that the device emitted cancer-causing radiation.
“In view of the low doses from back scatter security scanners there is no scientific basis to separately consider potentially vulnerable groups, like pregnant women, children, in risk assessment,” the report states.
“Cumulative doses are very likely to remain below the constraints with back scatter scanners even for frequently scanned individuals.”
Although academic experts, such as American academic Dr David Brenner, argue that the scanner could deliver 20 times more radiation compared to previous estimates, the “back scatters” device is already being trialled at Manchester Airport.
Airport chiefs are now expecting the scanner to gain the full stamp of approval from the EC. Although the back scatters use ionising radiation to create a “naked” outline of travellers, holidaymakers’ modesty will be saved as staff analysing the images will be in a separate room.
Travellers who object to going through the scanner will not be permitted to fly until they comply with the enhanced security check.
“The SCENIHR [the EC’s Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks] report has published its conclusion,” said a spokesman for Manchester Airport.
“As we expected, it has confirmed that back scatter body scanners are safe which is the same conclusion as expert studies already carried out by the UK Health Protection Agency and its US equivalents.”
Although the November report by the EC argued that the scanner was safe to use, it still argued that cancer risks are not “entirely excluded”.
However, it went on to argue that the doses of radiation delivered by the “back scatters” were still “very low” compared to the cosmic radiation received during the flight.
