Airport scanners emit cancer-causing radiation

Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon, author, lecturer, is advising travelers to opt out of X-ray scans at the airport. He says:

“Radiation increases cancer risk by damaging the DNA and various components within the cells. Most scientists think that the most damaging radiation types are those that have high penetration, such as gamma-rays, but in fact, some of the most damaging radiation barely penetrates the skin.

“One of the main concerns is that most of the energy from the airport scanners is concentrated on the surface of the skin and a few millimeters into the skin. Some very radiation-sensitive tissues are close to the skin - such as the testes, eyes, and circulating blood cells in the skin.

“This is why defenders using such analogies as the dose being 1,000-times less than a chest X-ray and far less than what passengers are exposed to in-flight are deceptive. Radiation damage depends on the volume of tissue exposed. Chest X-rays and gamma-radiation from outer space is diffused over the entire body so that the dose to the skin is extremely small. Of note, outer space radiation does increase cancer rates in passengers, pilots, and flight attendants.

“As we grow older, our DNA accumulates a considerable amount of unrepaired damage, and under such circumstances even low doses of radiation can trigger the development of skin cancers, including the deadly melanoma.

“About 5 percent of the population have undiagnosed abnormal DNA repair mechanism. When exposed to radiation, this can put them at a cancer risk hundreds of times greater than normal people.

“It also has been determined that when skin is next to certain metals, such as gold, the radiation dose is magnified 100-fold higher. What if you have a mole next to your gold jewelry? Will the radiation convert it to a melanoma? Deficiencies in certain vitamins can dramatically increase your sensitivity to radiation carcinogenesis, as can certain prescription medications.

As for the assurances we have been given by such organization as the American College of Radiology, we must keep in mind that they assured us that the CT scans were safe and that the radiation was equal to one chest X-ray. Forty years later we learn that the dose is extremely high, it is thought to have caused cancer in a significant number of people, and the dose is actually equal to 1,000 chest X-rays.” 

“When the real effects of these scanners on health become known, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and the rest of the gang who insist the scanners are safe will be long gone.”

Dr. Grout’s comment:

I agree. Thank you Dr. Blaylock for a clear description of the issue.

Earlier this year, the President’s Cancer Panel issued a surprisingly candid report about how to reduce the environmental factors we know contribute to the high rate of cancer. One of the report’s recommendations was to avoid unnecessary medical screening because X-rays cause cancer.

For this same reason, many of us applauded the revised guidelines released a year ago by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that called for less mammography screening – a mammogram is an X-ray of the breast.

It is projected today that 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 2 men will get cancer in their lifetime. The TSA needs to find a better way to provide security than putting Americans at risk for cancer.