New Report Likely to Fuel Debate Over TSA Scanners

Feb. 27, 3:24 p.m.

A new report from the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security is likely to fan rather than extinguish the debate over the safety of X-ray body scanners, known as backscatters, deployed at airports across the country.

How (and How Not) to Jumpstart an Economy

Feb. 11, 5:27 p.m.

The author of a new book about the stimulus, Money Well Spent?, draws lessons for what the government can do now to create jobs.

Senators’ Bill Calls for Independent Study of Airport Scanners

Jan. 31, 6:41 p.m.

How the Stimulus Revived the Electric Car

Jan. 31, 10 a.m.

The Obama administration helped build an American electric car and battery industry. The question is: Will it last? From ProPublica reporter Michael Grabell’s new book on the stimulus, Money Well Spent?

Drive-by Scanning: Officials Expand Use and Dose of Radiation for Security Screening

Jan. 27, 10:30 a.m.

From prisons to borders to the streets of New York, law enforcement officials are using X-ray scanners on people more often and with higher doses of radiation.

Bill Would Require Independent Study of X-Ray Body Scanners

Jan. 26, 10:03 a.m.

Sen. Susan Collins is planning to introduce a bill that would require the TSA to conduct a new, independent health study of the X-ray body scanners used to screen airline passengers for explosives at airports.

Invasion of the Body Scanners: They’re Spreading, But Are They Safe and Effective?

Dec. 28, 2011, 10:42 a.m.

One type of scanner uses X-rays, and ProPublica and PBS NewsHour revealed questions about whether it might increase cancer cases. But a safer type of scanner has its own problems. ProPublica investigated the biggest change to airport security since the metal detector.

Just How Good Are the TSA’s Body Scanners?

Dec. 22, 2011, 11:17 a.m.

While the Transportation Security Administration says that airport body scanners are highly effective at detecting explosives hidden underneath clothing, some studies and a congressman briefed on classified research suggest the machines could miss carefully concealed plastic explosives.

Sweating Bullets: Body Scanners Can See Perspiration as a Potential Weapon

Dec. 19, 2011, 9:40 a.m.

One type of airport body scanner deployed by the Transportation Security Administration has raised health concerns, but a safer type has registered such high false-alarm rates that Germany and France have nixed it.

Body Scanner Survey Methodology

Dec. 7, 2011, 7:55 a.m.

Coffee, Tea or Cancer? Almost Half of Americans Oppose X-ray Body Scanners

Dec. 7, 2011, 7:55 a.m.

A new Harris poll conducted for ProPublica shows that even if X-ray body scanners would prevent terrorists from smuggling explosives onto planes, 46 percent of Americans still oppose using them because they could cause a few people to eventually develop cancer.

Senator Seeks Answers on X-Ray Body Scanners

Nov. 23, 2011, 5:36 p.m.

In letters to the Transportation Security Administration, Senator Susan Collins asked why the agency backed off its promise to conduct a new safety study of the X-ray machines, and recommended larger signs to advise pregnant women they can request a pat-down instead.

TSA Puts Off Safety Study of X-ray Body Scanners

Nov. 16, 2011, 1:37 p.m.

After promising an independent evaluation of X-ray body scanners, the head of the TSA now says he’ll put it off pending an inspector general report on the machines.

Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Used at U.S. Airports

Nov. 15, 2011, 4:45 p.m.

The European Union has prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners, which emit low levels of a type of radiation shown to cause cancer.

TSA to Conduct New Study of X-Ray Body Scanners

Nov. 2, 2011, 5:40 p.m.

The head of the TSA testified today that the agency will perform a new, independent study on the safety of X-ray body scanners after senators at a hearing raised questions about a ProPublica investigation.

U.S. Government Glossed Over Cancer Concerns As It Rolled Out Airport X-Ray Scanners

Nov. 1, 2011, 1:06 p.m.

A 1998 safety panel was reassured X-ray body scanners wouldn’t see widespread use. Today, despite having a safer alternative that the U.S. government deems highly effective, the Transportation Security Administration is marching millions of airline passengers through the scanners, parting ways with European countries that concluded radiation from routine airport use poses a health risk.

Economic Myths: We Separate Fact From Fiction

Aug. 18, 2011, 3:44 p.m.

Taxes are too high, the stimulus was too little. What’s true?

Could Unspent Stimulus Money Be Used to Fend Off a New Recession?

Aug. 9, 2011, 11:46 a.m.

Taking back stimulus money committed to long-term infrastructure projects like high-speed rail and spending it on short-term stimuli like food stamps is easier said than done.

New Army Study Says Radiation From Airport Body Scanners Is Minor

July 14, 2011, 1:56 p.m.

The backscatter X-ray scanners, which the Transportation Security Administration uses to check for objects hidden under clothing, have been the subject of controversy about how safe they are and whether they create a cancer risk for the traveling public.