As the busy end-of-summer travel period is getting underway, a New York congressman says the airport security scanners that millions of travelers are going through have health risks.
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) is calling on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to investigate risks from Backscatter X-ray machines.
Rep. Israel was planning a Tuesday morning news conference to warn of potential health risks when entering full-body Backscatter X-ray scanners at airport security.
He claims the risk is especially high for young children and pregnant women.
Backscatter X-ray machines detect radiation that reflects from a subject instead of traditional machines that transmit through the target.
244 of the scanners are being used at 36 airports across the country, according to Israel. The TSA has called the machines safe.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not subject the airport scanners to the same evaluations as medical X-rays because they are not used for medical purposes.
It has claimed that a person would have to be screened more than a thousand times in one year to exceed the annual radiation dose limit for people screening that has been set by expert radiation safety organizations.
That hasn't stopped at least one company from marketing what it calls radiation shielding undergarments to protect radiation from airport scanners.
Sunday, May 19 2013 12:05 AM EDT2013-05-19 04:05:15 GMT
Authorities say one person is dead and another was injured when the vehicle they were in ran off the road and crashed into Huntington harbor on Long Island Saturday evening.
Authorities say one person is dead and another was injured when the vehicle they were in ran off the road and crashed into Huntington harbor on Long Island Saturday evening.
Thursday, May 16 2013 1:40 PM EDT2013-05-16 17:40:30 GMT
A proposal to build a major Long Island casino with video slot machines is part of closed-door negotiations to expand casino gambling in New York.
A proposal to build a major Long Island casino with video slot machines is part of closed-door negotiations to expand casino gambling in New York, according to the head of the Nassau County Off-Track Betting Corp. and a legislative bill.
Tuesday, May 14 2013 3:59 PM EDT2013-05-14 19:59:22 GMT
USDA photo
The tree-killing Asian longhorned beetle has been eradicated from Manhattan and Staten Island, but remains a problem in Brooklyn, Queens, and parts of Long Island.
The tree-killing Asian longhorned beetle has been eradicated from Manhattan and Staten Island, but remains a problem in Brooklyn, Queens, and parts of Long Island, according to state agriculture officials.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to freeze Long Islanders' energy rates for three years as part of a proposal to end operating control of the Long Island Power Authority.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to freeze Long Islanders' energy rates for three years as part of a proposal to end operating control of the Long Island Power Authority.
Monday, May 13 2013 6:57 AM EDT2013-05-13 10:57:44 GMT
Students and staff at Baldwin High School on Long Island are seeing tighter security at the school on Monday following a threatening message found scrawled inside the building.
Students and staff at Baldwin High School on Long Island are seeing tighter security at the school on Monday following a threatening message found scrawled inside the building. Investigators won't say was said in the message discovered over the weekend.
Sunday, May 12 2013 8:33 PM EDT2013-05-13 00:33:35 GMT
On this Mother's Day, a mom on Long Island knew something was wrong when she saw another mother in need. A mother riding home to Dix Hills after a Mother's Day dinner became an animal rescue worker.
On this Mother's Day, a mom on Long Island knew something was wrong when she saw another mother in need. A mother riding home to Dix Hills after a Mother's Day dinner became an animal rescue worker.
