From: Walton, John Michael (John) (jmwaltonavaya.com)
Date: Mon Nov 22 2004 - 15:41:53 CST

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First, let me state that I am by no means an expert on X-rays - I'm no
Radiologist. However, in my days as an Emergency Medical Technician I
learned a few things about them. As with any radiation, such as low
levels of X-rays, there is always a slight risk of damage to cells or
tissue. I've personally never heard of anyone experiencing nausea or
sharp pain from X-ray radiation exposure but it is possible side effect
of too much radiation. From a medical standpoint, the risk of X-ray
radiation to a patient is low compared to the potential benefit of the
X-ray. From a security standpoint though? I'm not so sure and I
personally wouldn't consent to one. By the way, did you have to sign a
consent form for the procedure?

At the very least I'd recommend subjects ask for a gonad shield to
reduce the radiation exposure to those um, "vulnerable organs";
especially if you may want kids in the future ;-). Women who may be
pregnant or who breast-feed should decline such a scan. Though I do
hope they ask these questions before randomly scanning
travelers...bringing us back to the privacy discussion and likely HIPAA.

As a final note, the pictures produced by this scan appear more like a
CT (computed tomography) scan instead of a simple x-ray. A CT produces
radiation of about 10 mSv, which is about the same as the average person
receives from background radiation in three years (yes I had to look
that up).

-John Walton

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