The Allied Pilots Association is concerned over the amount of radiation people are exposed to from the advanced imaging technology body scanners used at many airports.

Allied Pilots Association president Dave Bates is suggesting that American Airlines pilots go through a pat-down search by Transportation Security Administration personnel rather undergo the repeated radiation from the "advanced imaging technology" body scanners used at many airports.

That doesn't mean he likes the pat-downs, which can include hand-sliding over the groin and buttocks.

"There is absolutely no denying that the enhanced pat-down is a demeaning experience," Bates told members in a message Monday.

It is important to note that there are "backscatter" AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health. Airline pilots in the United States already receive higher doses of radiation in their on-the-job environment than nearly every other category of worker in the United States, including nuclear power plant employees. As I also stated in my recent letter to the Administrator of the TSA:

"We are exposed to radiation every day on the job. For example, a typical Atlantic crossing during a solar flare can expose a pilot to radiation equivalent to 100 chest X-rays per hour. Requiring pilots to go through the AIT means additional radiation exposure. I share our pilots' concerns about this additional radiation exposure and plan to recommend that our pilots refrain from going through the AIT. We already experience significantly higher radiation exposure than most other occupations, and there is mounting evidence of higher-than-average cancer rates as a consequence."


Link:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/apa-president-advises-against.html