Do airlines x-ray passangers for domestic flights?

[Deep13]

I'm thinking of going to the East coast for a vacation, but I will not be x-rayed by someone who is not a medical provider.

[Demeter]

1. Take a train

[Deep13]

2. Is that a yes or a no?

Since citizens of this country only exist to be mouths for consuming and hands for working, we only get enough time off to make sure we can keep doing those two things. Ergo, I really don't have 15 or 20 hours to kill on a train.

[peacebird]

6. the train is a delightful way to go - getting there is a relaxing part of the vacation!

Especially if you can manage to get a sleeper car... It makes the trip just about perfect!
We did this on a trip to Savannah - left after work, slept in tje sleeper car and arrived refreshed the next morning.

[Deep13]

12. I already said I don't have time.

No sleeper car is available.

[pitohui]

19. it's a YES, these other folks don't know what they're talking abt

on every single domestic flight in the usa you WILL be required to go thru a metal detector and you WILL receive some amount of ionizing radiation in excess of background

in some airports such as LAS and PHX you MAY be asked to go through a second device, called a full body scanner, and if you agree, you will AGAIN receive some amt of ionizing radiation in excess of background

right now, you are allowed to request a patdown instead of going thru the second device

however, EVERYONE, even the pilot of your airplane, goes thru the first device, the metal detector

you will receive some amt of ionizing radiation above background if you fly domestically, sheesh, i do this every fucking week, and some people do it every fucking day (the crew)

i'm amazed so many people don't know what a metal detector is

also because of the height at which commercial planes fly, you receive an elevated dose of radiation over what you would have received if you'd stayed on the ground

the classic example is the x number of cases of cancer in denver, colorado (the mile high city) each year that wouldn't have happened if denver was at sea level

life is risk, it's a small risk, but yeah, you asked a question and the answer to your question is that yes you will receive an extra dose of radiation from the metal detector, from being in a cabin at 35,000 feet, and (if you don't ask for the patdown) the full body scanner -- of the three, the full body scanner is the least likely because not in all airports yet, but metal detectors and jet airplanes ARE at all airports

[Defectata]

8. varies by airport

each airport has its own security.

they have the millimeter wave scanners at Indianapolis, but not Nashville TN nor Denver, which is where I frequently fly.

[alstephenson]

3. Yes. They have them here in Phoenix.

Passengers are selected "randomly". It's my understanding that you can "choose" to be patted down instead. I won't do the naked X-ray machine, either. I hate flying these days...

[Deep13]

4. I'd rather do the pat-down if available. nt

[pitohui]

10. the full body scanners at PHX (and now other airports) are a SECOND x-ray device

you cannot choose to be patted down instead of going thru the metal detector

you CAN choose to be patted down instead of going thru the nude-o-scope/full body scanner

i'm guessing from your post you don't realize it, but the metal detector ALSO exposes you to ionizing radiation

the OP seems to have a health worry, so either form of x-ray increases his/her exposure to ionizing radiation, the objection to the nude-o-scopes (pioneered as we all know at PHX) is that images of your nude body can be stored and shared around the internet (the TSA at first claimed that the images weren't stored but after a huge cache of nude photos was discovered they had to admit that they oops fibbed)

if the reason is an objection to being exposed to ionizing radiation, the OP can't fly domestically, you CAN'T opt out of the metal detector in my experience, instead you are told to go thru anyway (if you can walk) and then when it goes off because of your implant or whatever, THEN they pat you down

only the nude-o-scope/full body scanner is currently semi-optional (at some airports it isn't really optional, you comply or don't fly, according to reports i've gotten from other travelers)

[Deep13]

13. I'm not concerned about conventional metal detectors.

I'm concerned about X-ray specifically.

[Confusious]

15. How are magnetic fields ionizing radiation?

All metal detectors use magnetic fields to detect metal. Magnetic fields aren't even considered radiation.

[madinmaryland]

5. BWI in Baltimore does not have them.

From there you have access to DC to Boston via train.

[pitohui]

7. yes you are x-rayed for domestic flights, in germany you ask for patdown but in usa?

FRA (frankfurt, germany) is the most paranoid airport in the world, but they do allow for you to say you are pregnant/have medical concerns and you can get a patdown instead

i wish we had that option in the usa because i am a frequent flyer and i prob. glow in the dark, we all know from health physics there is no safe level of x-ray exposure, even the background radiation in denver colorado causes so many cancers a year

i would ask for a patdown every time if i thought i could get away with it but on usa domestic flights what actually happens is you STILL have to get the x-ray, in addition to the pat-down

i really feel bad for crew, because they get x-rayed every single day, and yes, airline crew members (pilot, FAs etc) have an elevated risk of some cancers, just as medical providers (radiographers) do

i have no answer for you, i just figure i have to die of something and at least if i kill myself thru my stupid adventures i'll have some wild times to look back on :-)

[Xithras]

14. I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I was stopped, declined the scan, and got a patdown. Nobody made me scan it anyway, and they didn't even give me a hard time about it.

If the DO ask why, just tell them that you've had a number of medical x-rays recently (or a CAT scan) and are concerned about your maximum exposure level. They won't argue with you. In my case, they didn't even ask WHY I didn't want to do it until I was already getting the pat-down.

[Xithras]

9. I flew SF to Phoenix recently.

Got pulled for a check. I didn't want to be x-rayed, so they just did a pat down. No biggie.

While I was being searched, the TSA guy actually asked me why I didn't want to be scanned. I answered by asking him whether he knew what the maximum safe annual millirem exposure level was for a human being. He said that he didn't, so I just looked at him and said, "And that's why I don't want you using that machine on me. If you don't know what safe is, how can you honestly tell me it's safe?"

He just laughed and sent me on my way.

[pitohui]

11. you got x-rayed when you went thru the metal detector anyway

sure he was un-informed but so are you, no offense

it's pretty funny for people to talk about milli-rems who don't even know what it is themselves

yes, i'm a frequent flying nerd, but so be it...

[Deep13]

17. How is a metal detector x-ray?

Isn't that a passive detection device the same way a radio antenna is?

[Xithras]

20. Metal detectors don't use x-rays

They work by generating magnetic fields that you walk through. If you have any ferrous items on you, the item will alter the magnetic field. Any alteration of that field will cause an alarm.

Heck, you can MAKE a basic metal detector using only a pair of headphones, a pair of CD-R's, and an old battery powered calculator, and a 9 volt battery. It's primitive, but it's the same physics used in airport detectors. No radiation involved, just magnetic fields.

[Deep13]

24. That's what I thought. nt

[liberalmuse]

16. Yes.

I was x-rayed in Salt Lake City. :mad:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. What's more, the big chemtrail corporations...

expose you to higher than normal background radiation while flying at altitude.

I say we break into the airports and stop on all the airplanes. Because we should be big supporters of organic flying.

[pitohui]

21. shhh don't tell

it's hopeless these folks have no idea what the atmosphere is or that it's well known that at higher elevations you have a greater risk of radiation-related cancers

it isn't a great risk but it's there

to these folks, the metal detector is OK because, well, they're "used to it"

the new device is bad because they're not used to it

alrighty then

at the end of the day if you stroll thru a metal detector and get on a plane that will level off at 35,000 feet, which is known to (very slightly) elevate your risk, just as a medical x-ray, slightly elevates your risk, then i don't see the purpose of the question

i could see, "i don't want my nude scan all over the internet" but to pretend it's more dangerous than what you're already doing is absurd


but people are people, they aren't rational

[Deep13]

26. I'd go to the airport in a thong if it would speed it up. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Oh, I'm not talking about the atmosphere.

I'm talking about the secret metal detectors they have on the second floor of the plane.

[Deep13]

23. Are you a doctor?

Can you guarantee that being x-rayed by what amounts to a mall rent-a-cop in addition to all the dental x-rays I get is safe? How much radiation do airport xrays produce? How does that compare to dental x-rays?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

29. Yes, I'm a doctor.

And the harmful effects of radiation are neutralized by the anti-fluoride they put in the bloody marys.

[Deep13]

31. You are, of course, free to believe everything the government tells you. (edit)

I can't help noticing how much care actual medical professionals use in diagnostic x-ray. I wear a lead apron at the dentist's office and the operator always stands int he next room to turn it on. I also know that a lot of people have been killed by x-ray in the early days before the risks were known. So I will kindly ask you not to lump me in with conspiracy theorists.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Also, I'm the government.

The whole thing.

[Deep13]

33. Actually, I was thinking of another word. nt

[Xithras]

34. Actually, we DO know the maximum safe level.

There isn't one.

Getting exposed to 15000 millirem a year will increase your cancer odds by 1%. Is that "safe"? Depends on how important that 1% is to you. That works out to about 300 medical x-rays, 900 dental scans, or about five CAT scans.

The backscatter machines dose you to about a thousandth of a chest x-ray, so it would theoretically take over a quarter million scans in a single year to increase your cancer risk by 1%. The TSA uses that number to claim that the machines are safe, but that ignores simple reality. Each scan increases your odds of getting cancer by 0.000003%

So, the real question you have to answer is: How important is a 0.000003% cancer risk to you?

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. It is up to DSA, not the airlines anymore.

Airlines lost security rights/responsibilities after TSA was formed in the wake of 9/11.

Contact your departure (and if you smoke or otherwise need to go outside, layover) terminal to inquire.

[Bill McBlueState]

25. you'll pass through a metal detector

and in some cases, a full-body scanner that uses terahertz waves.

It's an invasion of privacy, but no x-rays are involved.

[Deep13]

30. So there are no x-rays at the airport for humans?

What's terahertz? Radio?

[Bill McBlueState]

37. between radio and infrared

millimeter-wave is another name for it.

[seabeyond]

28. we drove from texas to cape cod. and then from texas to SF.

last year and this year.

my hubby has to take a bet more time off, so we are getting longer vacations and we love seeing hte country and i love the freedom of it. all of us get along, so it isnt like the kids are fighting all the way.

i am so glad i stopped taking airplanes. i love driving on vacations, exploring with family.

[leveymg]

35. How else are they to dispose of all that thallium and other reactor core waste? Airport X-Rays!

Agent Mike has a long-term contract with the thallium processing guild, so he has an interest in what gets said here. Everyone at DHS gets paid in medical isotopes these days, so better pack your Geiger counter with your tooth brush if you're flying.

This is nothing new. It started with Flouride-18 in the water in the 1950s . . .

:+ B-) :+ :nuke: :hide: :patriot: Happy chemtrails! :+ B-) :+ :nuke: :hide: :patriot:

[Initech]

36. I fly domestic all the time. Never, not once been x-rayed.