Pilots boycott full-body scanners over health fears

[harvey007]

Source: Australian News Network

THE world's largest pilot's association has boycotted full-body scanners over health risks but passengers wishing to avoid the devices may instead be faced with "invasive" pat-down searches.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA) made the recommendation in a recent letter to its members, advising pilots to submit to the searches instead of facing the extra radiation from the scanners.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/pilots-boycott-naked-airport-scanners-over-health-fears/story-e6frfq80-1225947834443

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Background:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/11/american-airlines-pilots-in-revolt-against-the-tsa/65746

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/naked-scanners-may-increase-cancer-risk/story-e6frfq80-1225868706270

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/new-airport-pat-downs-in-the-us-like-foreplay/story-e6frfq80-1225945511819#ixzz14HRcCsIc

[laconicsax]

1. A pat-down is more invasive than a strip-search?

Hmm.

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. The "NEW" pat-down

Where women's breasts will be searched, or rather the inside of their bras...same difference, eh? But, men with man-boobs are given the go-ahead....go figure. Guess women are more threatening...boobs bras are dangerous terrorist cells all by themselves.

What about ball cups, TSA? Huh? Ever think about ball cups???!!!11!!?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. they felt up my man boobs in Denver

TSA creep thought a joke about mammograms would be funny,

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. I am so sorry for your experience.

I wish they would hand out customer survey forms after these searches.

[wordpix]

28. one felt up my real boobs in Denver-hey, maybe it's the same creep

:shrug:

[earcandle]

7. NO more planes for me.

[saigon68]

24. Grabbing their breasts--- the new sport

[oxymoron]

2. Well a Nobel Laureate and other UCSF scientists agree with the Pilots

http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf

[midnight]

13. Thank you for posting. "real independent safety data do not exist."

The X-ray dose from these devices has often been compared in the media to the cosmic ray exposure inherent to airplane travel or that of a chest X-ray. However, this comparison is very misleading: both the air travel cosmic ray exposure and chest X- rays have much higher X-ray energies and the health consequences are appropriately understood in terms of the whole body volume dose. In contrast, these new airport scanners are largely depositing their energy into the skin and immediately adjacent tissue, and since this is such a small fraction of body weight/vol, possibly by one to two orders of magnitude, the real dose to the skin is now high.
In addition, it appears that real independent safety data do not exist.

[dflprincess]

16. I heard one report a while ago on that said they were safe BUT

"pregnant women should avoid them". :wtf:

[Ian David]

4. If we pretend to enjoy the pat-downs, they'll stop doing it. n/t

[PfcHammer]

5. I usually pack 2-3 socks down inside me trousers. Will I have to

remove them now?

[saigon68]

27. Not only that----

They will remove them for you------ and admire your length and girth

[2Design]

8. Government now molest and rapes the public in order for them to fly

Same government that calls torture - enhanced interrogation

the right says they don't want government in their lives - This is too much government on my body

[Ilsa]

9. Interesting thing: the APA agrees that physical searches and pat-downs

are demeaning and they've advised their members to request privacy when being searched. Let's face it: anyone else requesting privacy or something that inconveniences the TSA agent is likely to be harassed, perhaps to the point of missing their flight.My friend, the wife of a commercial pilot, was publically molested by the TSA.

[high density]

10. I think everybody should opt-out of the body scan

The TSA will not have enough bodies to do the pat downs. They will have to rethink their policy of these virtual strip searches.

[Ilsa]

15. If I'm gonna be patted down, I'd like to be able to choose my

screener. I'd prefer a young handsome fellow, thank you very much, if I'm to be assaulted.

[joshcryer]

17. Ha, nice.

[saigon68]

31. Travelers don't like their JUNK handled by double digit IQ Cretins

[Crunchy Frog]

11. Ah well. Why not get your air travel and your yearly pelvic exam

over with at the same time?

[October]

12. APA is American Airlines pilots association

ALPA represents the rest of the unionized pilots.

I've always found it ironic that these TSA types, for example, remove my pilot husband's nail clippers, and then he sits at the controls. Same thing with these pat-downs.

[haifa lootin]

14. Hey...with those nail clippers, he could do something like...scratch the windshield.

Or give someone a manicure. We have gone past silly, left stupid far behind and are now firmly entrenched in
true insanity.

[PfcHammer]

18. Imma fart liberally in the face of the TSA groper next time I get searched

[ixion]

19. The TSA is distinctly un-American

and this is a primary example of why.

[saigon68]

25. No cancer for these Camel Jockeys

[Crusader Rabbit]

20. No Shortage of Jokes...

If this keeps up there will not be much in the way of high speed rail coast to coast anymore. Airlines are going to see a decline in business, trains and buses are going to go up. Maybe ships too. Under no circumstances am I going to allow any airport security person to scan or grope my wife or myself and if my kids were still small I'd get arrested for what I'd do to any of them who reached for one.

Americans are pretty easy in this regard though. They are apt to allow just about anything. It's like they're numb or something. But sooner or later the shit is going to hit the fan and some demonstrations closing airports are going to take place. So cops, get ready and brush up your thumping skills and take off your name tags because "we the people" are beginning to have "had it up to here" with all the bullshit downstream from W's bullshit wars.

[Delphinus]

21. I hear you -

it does seem like we *are* numb. If those grizzlies were really grizzlies, *this* kind of invasion of our privacy and being treated considered guilty without reason, would be their call to arms.

[saigon68]

26. Every CROTCH GROPED one less vote for Obama

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. They speak for me.

[Johnny Harpo]

29. And What About The Rest Of Us?....But Hey....

no pilots...no flights...no passengers no income.

The best way to fight this is drive if you can...fly if you must.

Nothing about this will change unless the airlines feel it in the pocket-book.

This whole thing is outrageous...The TSA is out of control.

And besides...if the 'bad guys' wants to get a bomb on a plane they will find a way.

And it won't be through a security check point.

[Lionel Mandrake]

30. If x-rays are dangerous to pilots,

aren't they equally dangerous to flight attendants?

Flight attendants fly just as often as the pilots do. Shouldn't they also be exempted from x-ray scanners?