Hi All,

I found this quite interesting. It’s probably not worthwhile worrying about at this stage until further research is done.

Full body scanners at airports pose skin cancer risk

A report recently featuring in the Herald Sun has brought our attention to the possible risks associated with the new X-ray machines that are to be installed in airports as part of a security up-grade.

Scientists have warned that although the low-level beam delivers only a small dose of radiation to the body, it is concentrated on the skin which is a radiation sensitive organ.

According to Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University’s centre for radiological research, children and passengers with gene mutations (about one in 20 of the population) were at higher risk as they were less able to repair damage to their DNA. He urges that more tests are carried out on the device in order to see how it affects more radiation-sensitive groups.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency said it did not believe the scanners posed a significant risk to public safety. “The benefits gained from the increase in security obtained by these scanners outweighs the slight risk from the small exposure to radiation," the agency found.

The most likely risk from the airport scanners is a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma, according to Dr Brenner. "If there are increases in cancers as a result of irradiation of children, they would most likely appear some decades in the future. It would be prudent not to scan the head and neck," he added.

I hope you found this as interesting as I did. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you by email ian.katz@southernsun.com.au.   

Dr Ian Katz, Director