!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OPT-OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY TAKE-Why in the world are we just now studying this subject? How many of us are routinely exposed to increased levels of radiation over and above that which we get by simply living? We use cell phones, get routine dental X-Rays and women are encouraged to get routine mammograms. Now airports are even zapping us! No matter what these researchers conclude, less radiation exposure is ALWAYS best, as is evidence in the fact that radiation is a known human carcinogen.

I’m a Vietnam Veteran who, 100% of the time, has to “opt-out” of screening radiation exposure at airports. When I read in Scientific America magazine that some TSA agents would be monitored for radiation exposure, I knew I was doing the correct thing by opting out every time. They don’t even walk through those machines. They simply stand by them! As one very nice TSA agent in Los Angeles told me, “you don’t need to opt out because the radiation you are exposed to in that chamber is not more than a standard mammogram.” EXACTLY! Breastcancer.org states, “…diagnostic radiation from mammography in women under 40 or possibly in women before menopause in general may well carry an increased risk of cancer associated with radiation alone.”

Women are encouraged to get routine mammograms and no one takes one airline flight. I remain convinced that it is cumulative radiation exposure, even in small doses, that injures our DNA.

Following in the footsteps of the pharmaceutical industry, from whom we constantly hear that their blockbuster drugs are injuring or killing too many people, when it comes to radiation screenings, we will soon hear either truth or hyperbole;

1. Airport and mammography screenings expose us to higher levels of radiation than was originally thought, so we must find a much safer way to screen.

2. The benefits of screening far outweigh the risks. 

{flike}