Open letter to Disney concerning new TSA full body scan.

[jlewisinsyr]

And like I asked you before, are you a licensed medical professional making that claim?

Or are you simply repeating what your employers tell you?

Not the poster referenced, but I think testimonials by experts including National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and American College of Radiology.

People have mis-information that the technology is new, but it isn't. Its actually been in use outside of the current environment at airports for over 20 years.

 

[kaytieeldr]

So, just to make sure I understand, jlewis - are you saying that experts in the field of radiology have determined that I get more radiation exposure during my flight than going through the scanner?

 

[jediagh]

Waste of time and misdirected.

Disney has no control on government regulations. Write your congressman - not that it would do any good - or choose not to fly.

Yes, I agree the government oversteps and yes, I believe much of what the TSA does is a waste of time and for show and not making anyone any safer, but this is the US and the rule is
put up and shut up.

Also, the letter's annoying sanctamonious tone and detail will make any executive's assistant throw it away.

The letter came from this blog post which explains why a letter to Congress is not worth it but a letter to Disney (ie. the biggest money maker) would be.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/2010/10/25/write-a-letter/

In a nutshell the blog makes the point that in order to fight "TSA" (ie you are really fighting the biz of "airline security" which is big $$$) you need another biz or set of biz that are even bigger $$$. Thus if people begin to write to disney saying they have concerns over the new TSA regs due to

1) radiation on their children
2) nude images of their children online
3) having their children frisked

& then saying we want to go to Disney but not want to expereince such discomfort in the flight as such we will have to spend our vacation elsewhere what occurs is now disney has an issue over possible lost revenue (ie. 1, 2, 10s, 100s, 1000s of family not going NOT due to anything disney has done but due to what the gov has done). You can bet that disney (big $$$) voice will be heard in congress and dinsey will get it's way (tsa rule changes).

I do agree that the letter is way over the top. Here is a more toned-down letter.

My family and I returned from our first Disney vacation last month (09/06 through 09/13). We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World and everyone had a wonderful time. Our entire time at Disney was magical. It had been over 20 years since I had been to Disney as a child when my parents took my sisters and me. Experiencing Disney through the eyes of a father and seeing the smiles on my children (ages 5 and 2) was priceless. Thank you for being able to provide such a magical experience. The last night of our stay, we received a pamphlet with a discount (free dinning plan) to return in 2011 and experience a new vacation. My wife and I eagerly talked about doing another vacation in 2011 that night and the week after we returned from vacation.

However, we now have a growing concern that we am not sure how to address. We live in NW Indiana and must fly from Chicago to Orlando in order to visit Disney. A new set of rules by The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has my wife and I concern. TSA has announced the expansion of their whole body imaging (WBI) program to major airports by next year. This means that either we must choose to

1) expose our family to a dose of ionized radiation by the WBI machine so that it can create a nude image of each of our family members which can be stored and/or released to the internet if the operator so chooses,

2) if we opt-out of the WBI machine then our family will be groped/frisked by a TSA agents to included our private parts in order to ascertain the same level of details that the WBI does or

3) choose not to fly which means we cannot visit Disney and instead find something closer (drive able) to spend our next vacation at.

My wife and I have a strong concern over option 1 on our children and exposing them at such an early age to radiation from a machine that has not undergone long term testing for possible side effects. In addition, the ability of the machine to store nude images of our children for the operator or anyone online to see if very unsettling. Option 2 is no better and again our children will be subjugated to being “felt up” in places where they have been told is a “no-no” for a stranger to touch them. As such right now my wife and I are having a very hard time deciding how to get to Disney to re-experience the magic. It is not an issue of not being able to afford another Disney vacation for us. It is an issue of not wanting to have our children experience the unpleasant nature of air travel under the current/future TSA rules.

Right now, my wife and I are happy that we were able to experience at least one family Disney vacation. This is bitter sweet, however, if we cannot experience more in the future due to the air travel experience that TSA is creating.

BTW here is a study on the radiation issue from University of California.
http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf

 

[vicki_c]

http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/commercialflights.html - info from the Health Physics Society on flights.

From Wiki, because I didn't have time to search the original source quoted, but feel free to do so.
The Health Physics Society (HPS) reports that a person undergoing a backscatter scan receives approximately 0.05 μSv (or 0.005 mrems) of radiation; American Science and Engineering Inc. reports 0.09 μSv (0.009 mrems). 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 mrems) - 200 to 400 times larger than a backscatter scan. According to U.S. regulatory agencies, "1 mrem per year is a negligible dose of radiation, and 25 mrem per year from a single source is the upper limit of safe radiation exposure".[12]

And jediagh - while your letter is more concise and sane-sounding - it still misses the mark of what the blog's intent is (based on what you wrote - I didn't read the blog). If that's the intent - that Disney and other big companies will use their lobbyists to get these regulations changed, the writer needs to actually SAY that and REQUEST that. As it is, it's still a random complaint directed at the wrong party. You need to ASK Disney to consider the letter in view of their lobbying efforts with the Federal Government - sorry I'm too lazy to actually write that text, but the letter misses the mark.

Aside from the fact that I think it's still a ridiculous approach and Disney could care less how you get to the parks or what general inconveniences you may have to do so. Maybe next someone will write a letter about getting rid of tolls on the way to Disney.

 

[kcbedo]

I guess that settles the radiation question. I'm pretty sure most people have no idea how much radiation they are exposed to just from the environment.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Back to the original post for a second. Disney has, of course, absolutely nothing to do with TSA scans. And people flying ANYWHERE have to go through this--even Disney employees!!
So a letter to Disney WOULD be useless.

And we went through one of the scanners at BWI last trip. Quick and we hardly gave it a second thought. Stand on the yellow foot marks, raise your hands--and it's over.

 

[Lewisc]

I'll tell you what's important to Disney. Lots of flights to Orlando. Reasonable airfares would be nice. Money losing, unprofitable airfares even better. Disney wants passengers to feel safe flying.

Politicians are fare more likely then Disney to react to emotional objections raised by voters.

Nude pictures onlline?

Concerned about radioation. Contact the FDA.

 

[Lewisc]

Do you have to remove your shoes? Does it replace the metal detectors currently being used? A lot of people will think it's a plus if it speeds up security lines.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

So, just to make sure I understand, jlewis - are you saying that experts in the field of radiology have determined that I get more radiation exposure during my flight than going through the scanner?

Yes, as in 100 - 200 times more radiation flying then entering a scanner.

 

[betterlatethannever]

Do you have to remove your shoes? Does it replace the metal detectors currently being used? A lot of people will think it's a plus if it speeds up security lines.

You still need to remove your shoes.

You must remove EVERYTHING from your pockets.

It takes longer (10-15 seconds standing with your hands over your head), then waiting for the OK to go.

Plus the real downside, is not having full sight of your carryon for some if not all of the scan (especially the wallet you had to let go through the carryyon xray).

Ed

 

[pioneer89]

Choices:

1.) Fly and put up with it.

2.) Don't fly commercial airlines, and find another way (ground, chartered priviate flight, etc.)

3.) Get the regulation changed.

What scares me is that some people think the best way to get this change is to find a corporation to do it for us. Have we really sunk that far as a country? (I might not want that answered.)

 

[dburg30]

You still need to remove your shoes.

You must remove EVERYTHING from your pockets.

It takes longer (10-15 seconds standing with your hands over your head), then waiting for the OK to go.

Plus the real downside, is not having full sight of your carryon for some if not all of the scan (especially the wallet you had to let go through the carryyon xray).
Ed

See that's the biggest issue I have with it.

Plus, from what I can tell, it's still going to be just random selection isnt it? I mean they are using them at CMH here in columbus, but not everyone is going thru them. Are they planning on sometime to have everyone go thru them? If that's the case, it will REALLY take some time to get thru checkpoints.. We had 11 of us travel in two groups, and none of us got picked to go thru the scanner.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I plan to have a body scan and enjoy every minute of it! It's all in the attitude and it beats walking to Disney.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Hi, kids. Sorry for getting into this so late.

Number 1. TSA agents who view the images of people in the backscatter machines are completely AND I MEAN COMPLETELY isolated from the machine itself. They have built soundproofed, windowless rooms for the person viewing the images. There is no way anyone could see an image of a certain person and know exactly who is being seen, aside from is it male or female.

snip

I work for TSA

Why not put the person viewing the scans where the public can see him/her and be assured that all the scanning behavior is appropriately serious.

I'll ask again, why aren't TSA employees screened (just like the rest of us) each time they enter the sterile area?

 

[pr surfer]

I plan to have a body scan and enjoy every minute of it! It's all in the attitude and it beats walking to Disney.

Enjoy it. I'll choose to opt out and continue on my way.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Do you have to remove your shoes? Does it replace the metal detectors currently being used? A lot of people will think it's a plus if it speeds up security lines.

Yes, you have to remove your shoes, they must be xrayed.

No, it doesn't speed up the screening process. It takes longer to be scanned than it does to use the WTMD.

Anecdotal reports are that a higher percentage of WBI/AIT scanees get patted down after being in the scan booth than those using the WTMD. This also adds to the time.

 

[vicki_c]

Why not put the person viewing the scans where the public can see him/her and be assured that all the scanning behavior is appropriately serious.

But isn't that the point - to disassociate the person seeing the image from being able to see the actual person. So say, I, the unscrupulous TSA agent sees something I think I like in that blurry image (LOL - I'll try not to go any further than that!) and decide that on my break, I will go search out that person and see about a date?

Edited: oh yeah, and for the reason dburg posted below - the more obvious one - so everyone else in the security area doesn't see - LOL! kind of forgot about that part!

 

[vicki_c]

OK I would like to see some statistics on how many people are choosing NOT to visit Disney because of the airport screening machines. The numbers (which we know don't exist anywhere to check) would be so infinitesimal it wouldn't even be a blip to Disney's bottom line. There is a hugely exaggerated sense of how many people this matters enough to, to cancel their trips.

 

[dburg30]

Why not put the person viewing the scans where the public can see him/her and be assured that all the scanning behavior is appropriately serious.

Ummm.. because they are trying to make it so that people that are seeing you 'naked' dont really see who you are.. So, you'd rather have the screener in YOUR view, which means the 'nude' pictures of YOU are viewable not only to you, but to others around you??? Yea, dont see people letting that happen...

 

[deegack]

I'm not a big fan of the scanning thing, however, I will gladly subject myself and my family to it if it means EVERYONE on that plane has been screened also.
I may be of an unpopular opinion here, and I am throwing political correctness aside here... I PANIC whenever I see one or two 20-something middle eastern men travelling with either no carry on or just a small laptop bag. Yes, I know 9 years have gone by now since 9/11, but coming from Staten Island it had a huge impact here. So, forgive my opinion if you disagree, but I'll deal with the miniscule amounts of radiation and I'll be happy that everyone else does too.

I'm sorry that is pathetic. Islam is one of the largest if not the largest religion in the world. Because of of extremest that make up less than one percent of the religion have bad intentions you panic over seeing two together. Gosh I bet 60 years ago you would have panicked over seeing two black men together. I am a new yorker. I saw the destruction. I spent a day worried that my father was dead because he worked there. My husband finally doesn't have nightmares are a regular basis because he was one of the engineers down there trying to pull the buildings off of people after they fell. I hat when people use 9-11 as an excuse for blatant racism that would not be seemly if directed at any other group.
We are traveling to wdw next week. We will opt out of the scanners. If any one does not follow proper procedure as published by the TSA I will be lodging a formal complaint and contacting my congressman and senators.
The founding fathers would be horrified that we are allowing this to happen with no real protests.