It looks like the TSA has found itself at the center of another storm. In other news, I understand that stars are hot sometimes. New tests show that the scanners the TSA has deployed around the country at “at least” 78 airports show radiation levels way beyond what was expected. We’re talking 10 times higher. But don’t fret: the TSA says the test results are flawed, and that the machines truly are safe as can be. Honest.
A TSA spokesperson told Wired that technicians made a mistake in measuring radiation levels. Technicians are supposed to take 10 separate readings, then divide this sum by 10 in order to get an average reading.
It seems that the readings that have caused all the commotion weren’t divided by 10, leading to the false impression that the machines have been exposing people to much more radiation than originally advertised.
That hasn’t stopped one consumer rights group, the Association for Airline Passage Rights, from pleading with the TSA to temporarily stop using the machines until the next round of tests are carried out in May.
It should also be pointed out that Wired found that the machines, which costs $180,000 a pop, were never tested on biological tissue—you know, mice and the like.
That Photoshop took at least an hour to put together—the fence was particularly rough—so I hope some of you at least get the joke.