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Backscatter X-ray
Backscatter X-ray is an advanced X-ray imaging technology.
Traditional X-ray machines detect hard and soft materials by the
variation in x-ray intensity transmitted through the target. In
contrast, backscatter X-ray detects the radiation that reflects from
the target. It has potential applications where less-destructive
examination is required, and can operate even if only one side of
the target is available for examination.

The technology is one of two types of whole-body imaging Backscatter technology produces an
technologies that have been used to perform full-body scans of image that resembles a chalk
airline passengers to detect hidden weapons, tools, liquids, etching.[1]
narcotics, currency, and other contraband. A competing technology
is millimeter wave scanner. One can refer to an airport security
machine of this type as a "body scanner", "whole body imager (WBI)", "security scanner" or "naked
scanner".[2]

Deployments at airports
In the United States, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 required that all full-body
scanners operated in airports by the Transportation Security Administration use "Automated Target
Recognition" software, which replaces the picture of a nude body with the cartoon-like
representation.[3] As a result of this law, all backscatter X-ray machines formerly in use by the
Transportation Security Administration were removed from airports by May 2013, since the agency
said the vendor (Rapiscan) did not meet their contractual deadline to implement the software.[4]

In the European Union, backscatter X-ray screening of airline passengers was banned in 2012 to
protect passenger safety.[5]

Technology
Backscatter technology is based on the Compton scattering effect of X-rays, a form of ionizing
radiation. Unlike a traditional X-ray machine, which relies on the transmission of X-rays through the
object, backscatter X-ray detects the radiation that reflects from the object and forms an image. The
backscatter pattern is dependent on the material property and is good for imaging organic material.

In contrast to millimeter wave scanners, which create a 3D image, backscatter X-ray scanners will
typically only create a 2D image. For airport screening, images are taken from both sides of the human
body.[6]

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Backscatter X-ray was first applied in a commercial low-dose personnel scanning system by Dr.
Steven W. Smith.[7 ][8][9] Smith developed the Secure 1000 whole-body scanner in 1992 and then sold
the device and associated patents to Rapiscan Systems, who now manufactures and distributes the
device.

Large scale
Some backscatter X-ray scanners can scan much larger objects, such as trucks and containers. This
scan is much faster than a physical search and could potentially allow a larger percentage of shipping to
be checked for smuggled items, weapons, drugs, or people.

There are also gamma-ray-based systems coming to market.[1 0]

In May 2011, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed suit against the United States
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Freedom of Information Act, claiming that DHS
had withheld nearly 1000 pages of documents related to the Z backscatter vans and other mobile
backscatter devices.[1 1 ]

Concerns

Legality

Since in addition to weapons, these machines are designed to be capable of detecting drugs, currency
and contraband, which have no direct effect on airport security and passenger safety, some have
argued that the use of these full body scanners is a violation of the 4th Amendment to the United
States Constitution and can be construed as an illegal search and seizure.[1 2]

Privacy
Backscatter x-ray technology has been proposed as an alternative to personal searches at airport and
other security checkpoints easily penetrating clothing to reveal concealed weapons. It raises privacy
concerns about what is seen by the person viewing the scan. Some worry that viewing the image
violates confidential medical information, such as the fact a passenger uses a colostomy bag, has a
missing limb or wears a prosthesis, or is transgender.

The ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center are opposed to this use of the technology.
The ACLU refers to backscatter x-rays as a "virtual strip search".[1 3] According to the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA), in one trial 79 percent of the public opted to try backscatter over the
traditional pat-down in secondary screening.[1 4]

It is "possible for backscatter X-raying to produce photo-quality images of what's going on beneath our
clothes", thus, many software implementations of the scan have been designed to distort private
areas.[1 5] According to the TSA, further distortion is used in the Phoenix airport's trial system where
photo-quality images are replaced by chalk outlines.[1 6][1 7 ] The TSA has also commented that
screening procedures such as having the screener viewing the image located far away from the person
being screened could be a possibility.

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In light of this, some journalists have expressed concern that this blurring
may allow people to carry weapons or certain explosives aboard by
attaching the object or substance to their genitals.[1 5][1 8]

The British newspaper The Guardian has revealed concern among British
officials that the use of such scanners to scan children may be illegal under
the Protection of Children Act 1978, which prohibits the creation and
distribution of indecent images of children. This concern may delay the
introduction of routine backscatter scanning in UK airports, which had
been planned in response to the attempted Christmas Day 2009 attack on
Northwest Airlines Flight 253.[1 9]

The Fiqh Council of North America have also issued the following fatwa in
relation to full-body scanners:

An image of Susan
It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women Hallowell, Director of the
be seen naked by other men and women. Islam highly Transportation Security
emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Administration's research
Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to lab taken with backscatter
cover their private parts.[20] x-ray system.

In August 2010, it was reported[21 ] that U.S. Marshals (part of the Department of Justice),[22] saved
thousands of images from a low resolution mm wave scanner: This machine does not show details of
human anatomy, and is a different kind of machine from the one used in airports. TSA, part of the
Department of Homeland Security, said that its scanners do not save images and that the scanners do
not have the capability to save images when they are installed in airports,[23] but later admitted that
the scanners are required to be capable of saving images for the purpose of evaluation, training and
testing.[24][25]

Health risks

Unlike cell phone signals, or millimeter-wave scanners, the energy being emitted by a backscatter X-
ray is a type of ionizing radiation that breaks chemical bonds. Ionizing radiation is considered
carcinogenic even in very small doses but at the doses used in airport scanners this effect is believed to
be negligible for an individual.[26][27 ][28][29] If 1 million people were exposed to 520 scans in one year,
one study estimated that roughly four additional cancers would occur due to the scanner, in contrast to
the 600 additional cancers that would occur from the higher levels of radiation during flight.[30]

Since the scanners do not have a medical purpose, the United States Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) does not need to subject them to the same safety evaluations as medical X-rays.[31 ] However,
the FDA has created a webpage comparing known estimates of the radiation from backscatter X-ray
body scanners to that of other known sources, which cites various reasons they deem the technology to
be safe.[32]

Four professors at the University of California, San Francisco, among them members of NAS and an
expert in cancer and imaging, in an April 2010 letter[33] to the presidential science and technology
advisor raised several concerns about the validity of the indirect comparisons the Food and Drug
Administration used in evaluating the safety of backscatter x-ray machines.[34] They argued that the
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effective dose is higher than claimed by the TSA and the body scanner manufacturers because the
dose was calculated as if distributed throughout the whole body, whereas most of the radiation is
absorbed in the skin and tissues immediately underneath. Other professors from the radiology
department at UCSF disagree with the claims of the signing four professors.[35]

The UCSF professors requested that additional data be made public detailing the specific data
regarding sensitive areas, such as the skin and certain organs, as well as data on the special (high-risk)
population. In October 2010, the FDA and TSA responded to these concerns.[36][37 ] The letter cites
reports which show that the specific dose to the skin is some 89,000 times lower than the annual limit
to the skin established by the NCRP. Regarding the UCSF concerns over the high-risk population to
sensitive organs, the letter states that such an individual "would have to receive more than 1,000
screenings to begin to approach the annual limit".[38][39][40]

John Sedat, the principal author of the UCSF letter, responded in November 2010 that the White
House's claim that full-body scanners pose no health risks to air travelers is in error, adding that the
White House statement has "many misconceptions, and we will write a careful answer pointing out
their errors."[41 ]

In a December 2, 2010 letter to the House of Representatives, Dr. Steven Smith, inventor of the body
scanner in 1991, stated that the concerns of Brenner and UCSF regarding the skin dose of backscatter
scanners is incorrect and the result of a confusion between dose and imaging penetration. Smith
demonstrated this difference with two experiments using plastic (with a similar rate of absorption as
body tissue), copper (the image subject), and an x-ray scanner. The dose-penetration experiment
shows that 5 and 50 mm (0.20 and 1.97 in) plastic samples absorb 5% and 50% of the beam intensity
respectively, whereas the imaging penetration experiment shows that 4.8 and 10  mm (0.19 and
0.39  in) plastic samples reduce the image darkness by 23% and 50% respectively. Dr. Smith states
that those who calculate high skin dosage have incorrectly used the shallow imaging penetration value
of a few millimeters (c. 0.16  in), whereas the actual dosage is calculated by the deeper dose
penetration.[42]

The TSA has also made public various independent safety assessments of the Secure 1000
Backscatter X-ray Scanner.[43][44][45][46]

Radiation safety authorities including the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements,
The Health Physics Society and the American College of Radiology, have stated that there is no specific
evidence that full-body scans are unsafe.[47 ] The Secure 1000 Backscatter X-ray scanner was
developed in 1992 by Dr. Steve Smith.[9] The scanner has been studied extensively for almost 20
years by the leading independent radiation safety authorities in the United States.[47 ][48]
Experimental and epidemiological data do not support the proposition, however, that there is a
threshold dose of radiation below which there is no increased risk of cancer.[49]

The UK Health Protection Agency has completed an analysis of the X-ray dose from backscatter
scanners and has written that the dose is extremely low and "about the same as people receive from
background radiation in an hour".[50]

The Health Physics Society (HPS) reports that a person undergoing a backscatter scan receives
approximately 0.05  μSv (0.005  mrem) of radiation; American Science and Engineering Inc. reports
0.09 μSv (0.009 mrem). At the high altitudes typical of commercial flights, naturally occurring cosmic
radiation is considerably higher than at ground level. The radiation dose for a six-hour flight is 20 μSv
(2  mrem) – 200 to 400 times larger than a backscatter scan. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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limits radiation exposure to the public to less than 1  mSv (100  mrem) per year from nuclear power
plants.[51 ] While this is not specifically for airline-associated radiation, the limit is an effective proxy
for understanding what level is deemed safe by a regulatory agency.

According to a draft standard on the United States FDA website, the allowable dose from a scan would
be 0.1  μSv, and that report uses a model whereby a 0.01  μSv dose increases an individual's risk of
death by cancer during his or her lifetime by 5 × 10−1 0 .[52] Since the dose limit is ten times higher
than 0.01 μSv, their model would predict one additional cancer death per 200 million scans. Since the
airports in the UK handled 218 million passengers in 2009,[53] if all passengers in the UK were
scanned at the maximum dosage, then each year this would produce on average one additional cancer
death (since there would be 200 million scans per year that the scanners were in operation), though
usually each death would not occur in the same year as the particular scan that caused it, since the
cancer may take years to grow. In addition, additional people would be given cancer but would die
from other causes.

There may not yet be evidence of hereditary effects of x-rays administered by backscatter scanners,
but backscatter scanners use the same kind of x-ray photons as are produced in medical x-ray
machines but expose the subject at a considerably lower dose, so it is possible that the results from
medical radiology may be relevant, at least until a study is done of any effects specific to backscatter x-
ray machines. Fathers exposed to medical diagnostic x-rays are more likely to have infants who
contract leukemia, especially if exposure is closer to conception or includes two or more X-rays of the
lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract or lower abdomen.[54] In medical radiography the x-ray beam is
adjusted to expose only the area of which an image is required, so that generally shielding is applied to
the patient to avoid exposing the gonads,[55] whereas in an airport backscatter scan, the testicles of
men and boys will be deliberately subjected to the direct beam in order to check for weapons in the
underpants, and some radiation will also reach the ovaries of female subjects. A linear dose-response
relationship has been observed between x-ray dose and double-strand breaks in DNA in human
sperm.[56]

Extrapolations of cancer risk from minuscule exposures to radiation across large populations, however,
are not supported by analysis by the National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP). On May 26,
2010 NCRP issued a press release to address such comments about full body scanners that are
compliant with ANSI N43.17. In Commentary No.16 issued on May 26, 2010, it reads as follows:

As stated in NCRP Report No. 121 (1995), Principles and Application of Collective Dose in
Radiation Protection, the summation of trivial average risks over very large populations or
time periods into a single value produces a distorted image of risk, completely out of
perspective with risks accepted every day, both voluntarily and involuntarily.[57 ]

According to NCRP, the use of statistical extrapolations that predict 1 death for every 200 million
persons scanned for example (as above) is an unrealistic over-estimation.[57 ][58]

Other scientists at Columbia University have made the following statements in support of the safety of
body scanners:[59]

"A passenger would need to be scanned using a backscatter scanner, from both the front
and the back, about 200,000 times to receive the amount of radiation equal to one typical
CT scan," said Dr. Andrew J. Einstein, director of cardiac CT research at Columbia

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University Medical Center in New York City.

"Another way to look at this is that if you were scanned with a backscatter scanner every
day of your life, you would still only receive a tenth of the dose of a typical CT scan," he
said.

By comparison, the amount of radiation from a backscatter scanner is equivalent to about

10 minutes of natural background radiation in the United States, Einstein said. "I believe
that the general public has nothing to worry about in terms of the radiation from airline
scanning," he added.

For moms-to-be, no evidence supports an increased risk of miscarriage or fetal

abnormalities from these scanners, Einstein added.

"A pregnant woman will receive much more radiation from cosmic rays she is exposed to
while flying than from passing through a scanner in the airport," he said.

Furthermore, other scientists claim the health effects of backscatter are well understood whereas
those from millimeter wave scanners are not:

"From a radiation standpoint there has been no evidence that there is really any untoward
effect from the use of this device [backscatter scanner], so I would not be concerned about
it from a radiation dose standpoint – the issues of personal privacy are a different thing,"
he said.

The health effects of the more common millimeter wave scanner are largely unknown, and
at least one expert believes a safety study is warranted.

"I am very interested in performing a National Council on Radiation Protection and

Measurements study on the use of millimeter-wave security screening systems," said
Thomas S. Tenforde, council president.

However, no long-term studies have been done on the health effects of millimeter wave
scanners.[59]

Experts evaluating backscatter x-ray machine technology have also argued that defects in the
machines, damage from normal wear-and-tear, or software errors could focus an intense dose of
radiation on just one spot of the body.[33] For example, Dr. Peter Rez, a professor of physics at Arizona
State University, has said, "The thing that worries me the most, is not what happens if the machine
works as advertised, but what happens if it doesn't", adding that a potential malfunction of the
machine could increase the radiation dose.[60][61 ]

The designers and manufacturers of backscatter X-ray scanners claim that the scanners are designed
to prevent the occurrence of these kinds of errors. The scanners' safety requirements include fail-safe
controls and multiple overlapping interlocks. These features, combined with fault analysis, ensure that
failure of any subsystem results in non-operation of the x-ray generator to prevent accidental
exposures. In the United States, the TSA requires that certification to the ANSI N43.17 safety
standard is performed by a third party and not by the manufacturer themselves.[62]

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The European Commission issued a report stating that backscatter x-ray scanners pose no known
health risk, and that "assuming all other conditions equal", that backscatter x-ray scanners, which
expose people to ionizing radiation, should not be used when millimeter-wave scanners that "have less
effects on the human body" are available.[63]

However, the European Commission report provides no data substantiating its claim that "all other
conditions are equal". One area where backscatter X-ray scanners can provide better performance
than MM wave scanners, for example, is in the inspection of the shoes, groin and armpit regions of the
body.[64]

In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on March 28, 2011 researchers at the
University of California "calculated that fully implementing backscatter scanners would not
significantly increase the lifetime risk of cancer for travelers."[65][66] The researchers calculated that
for every 100 million passengers who flew seven one-way flights, there would be one additional
cancer.[67 ][68]

Efficacy
In March 2012, scientist and blogger Jonathan Corbett demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the
technology by publishing a viral video showing how he was able to get a metal box through backscatter
x-ray and millimeter wave scanners (including the currently-used "Automated Target Recognition"
scanners) in two US airports.[69][7 0] In April 2012, Corbett released a second video interviewing a
TSA screener, who described firearms and simulated explosives passing through the scanners during
internal testing and training.[7 1 ]

Backscatter scanners installed by the TSA until 2013 were unable to screen adequately for security
threats inside hats and head coverings, casts, prosthetics and loose clothing.[7 2][7 3] This technology
limitation of current scanners often requires these persons to undergo additional screening by hand or
other methods and can cause additional delay or feelings of harassment.[7 4]

The next generation of backscatter scanners are able to screen these types of clothing, according to
manufacturers; however, these machines are not currently in use in public airports.[7 5]

In Germany, field tests on more than 800,000 passengers over a 10-month trial period concluded that
scanners were effective, but not ready to be deployed in German airports due to a high rate of false
alarms.[7 6] The Italian Civil Aviation Authority removed scanners from airports after conducting a
study that revealed them to be inaccurate and inconvenient.[7 7 ] The European Commission decided to
effectively ban backscatter machines.[7 8] In a 2011 staff report by Republican Members of Congress
about the TSA, airport body scanners were described as "ineffective" and "easily thwarted".[7 9]

Safety regulations and standards

In the US, manufacturers of security related equipment can apply for protection under the SAFETY
act, which limits their financial liability in product liability cases to the amount of their insurance
coverage. The Rapiscan Secure 1000 was listed in 2006.[80]

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In the US, an X-ray system can be considered to comply with requirements for general purpose
security screening of humans if the device complies with American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) Standard #N43.17.[81 ][82]

In the most general sense, N43.17 states that a device can be used for general purpose security
screening of humans if the dose to the subject is less than 0.25  μSv (25  μrem) per examination and
complies with other requirements of the standard. This is comparable to the average dose due to
background radiation (i.e. radioactivity within the surrounding environment) at sea level in 1.5 hours;
it is also comparable to the dose from cosmic rays when traveling in an airplane at cruising altitude for
two minutes.[83]

Many types of X-ray systems can be designed to comply with ANSI N43.17 including transmission X-
ray,[84] backscatter X-ray and gamma ray systems. Not all backscatter X-ray devices necessarily
comply with ANSI N43.17; only the manufacturer or end user can confirm compliance of a particular
product to the standard.

ANSI standards use a standard of measurement algorithm called "effective dose" that considers the
different exposure of all parts of the body and then weights them differently. The interior of the
human body is given more weight in this survey, and the exterior, including the skin organ, are given
less weight.

Technical countermeasures
Some people wish to prevent either the loss of privacy or the possibility of health problems or genetic
damage that might be associated with being subjected to a backscatter X-ray scan. One company sells
X-ray absorbing underwear which is said to have X-ray absorption equivalent to 0.5 mm (0.020 in) of
lead.[85] Another product, Flying Pasties, "are designed to obscure the most private parts of the
human body when entering full body airport scanners", but their description does not seem to claim
any protection from the X-ray beam penetrating the body of the person being scanned.[86]

See also
Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team
Explosives trace-detection portal machine (puffer machine)
Future Attribute Screening Technology
Millimeter wave scanner
Full body scanner
Container Security Initiative
NYPD X-ray vans

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External links
Z-Backscatter Van (http://www.educatedearth.net/video.php?id=4170) (video), Educated Earth: a
backscatter x-ray, mounted on surveillance trucks.
"Full-body scans of fliers set off debate over privacy, health" (https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2
010-07-13-bodyscans13_ST_N.htm), USA Today, 2010-07-13.
Research—High Resolution Scatter X-ray Imaging (https://web.archive.org/web/20100103114639/h
ttp://sxi.nre.ufl.edu/), University of Florida, archived from the original (http://sxi.nre.ufl.edu/) on 2010-
01-03.
Backscatter X-ray technology and risks (http://www.articleworld.org/index.php/Backscatter_X-ray),
Article world.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backscatter_X-ray&oldid=1139606825"

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