Announcer: Welcome back to The David Pakman Show.
David: Some of our audience will remember my experience with a porno pat-down from the
TSA on a trip to Miami recently. I opted not to have the radiation body scanner. And I
have never felt better about the decision, Louis, than I do right now, because I read
that the TSA is now admitting to having bungled the radiation tests.
Remember when we were told time after time, Louis, about how it's all fine and there's
just a tiny amount of radiation, and so on and so forth? You remember that, Louis.
Louis: I do.
David: It turns out the amount of radiation is significantly higher. And when I say "significantly",
we're talking about 10 times. 10 times as high. And I'm... what can I say? I'm glad
I didn't go through it.
Louis: Of course, any amount of radiation is harmful.
David: And cumulative, absolutely.
Louis: So... oh, but yeah, big surprise.
David: The TSA is reanalyzing the radiation levels of X-ray body scanners installed in
airports nationwide after testing produced dramatically higher-than-expected results.
The TSA has deployed at least 500 body scanners to 78 airports, said the machines meet all
safety standards and would remain in operation despite a, quote, "calculation error" in safety
studies which showed 10 times higher than expected radiation levels.
This is the most unbelievable part, is the source of this confusion. The SNAFU involves
tests conducted on the roughly 250 backscatter X-ray machines produced by Rapiscan of Los
Angeles, which will deliver another 250 at about $180,000 each. About the 250-millimeter
wave technology machines produced by L-3 Communications of New York, or rather, that part... the L-3
Communications machines were not part of the results.
Now, remember, Rapiscan is a client of Michael Chertoff's consulting group, Bush's Secretary
of Homeland Security. So if you want to talk corruption, if you want to be completely unsurprised,
Louis, by why we should expect that the testing was not done properly, it was not done correctly,
we didn't have the real information, just look at the fact that Michael Chertoff was
on TV discussing this technology without mentioning his business relationship with the manufacturer.
You remember covering that, Louis.
Louis: Of course. Right.
David: And it's just one of many examples, right? I don't think any of us are surprised.
Louis: No.
David: Rapiscan technicians in the field are required to test radiation levels 10 times
in a row and divide by 10 to produce an average radiation measurement. Often the testers failed
to divide results by 10. I don't even get that, because wouldn't that mean that the
actual radiation levels are 10 times lower than what is being measured?
Louis: Yeah.
David: I don't get the explanation, but you know what? What we're hearing is that the
actual radiation is 10 times higher. I'm not surprised. I'm glad I opted for the bizarre
porno pat-down where a federal agent told me I wasn't taking it seriously enough, I
needed to keep my palms up, he couldn't do anything about the fact that it was ticklish.
He had to stick his hands between my pants and my undergarments and shake out and shimmy
around me. As absurd as that was, I hate... it sounds weird, I'm glad that I got that
instead of the 10 times radiation.
Louis: Right, and there are no regulations here, right? There's no... there are no regulations
on acceptable levels of radiation coming out of these machines?
David: Well, it's one of those things where what is acceptable is an ongoing discussion,
right? I mean, what is acceptable... any amount is bad...
Louis: I mean, regardless of what an acceptable level would be, there are no regulations?
David: I don't know that. I actually don't know.
Louis: OK.
David: In other words, with a microwave, there must be some limit to what amount of radiation
can be emitted from it, you know, to you standing just next to it, there has to be some limit
somewhere I think. I could be wrong.
Louis: But we haven't heard about it.
David: Well, as we know, Louis, just because we haven't heard of something doesn't mean
it doesn't exist.
Louis: That's true.
David: But regardless, the point is we were told a certain thing and it turns out that
that's not the reality.
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