If a lot of TSA employees wore dosimeters, chances are there would be at least one false positive and the media would latch onto it.
I work at a nuclear reactor, and for the type of dosimeters we wear on the job (thermoluminescent dosimeters), there's no chance of a false-positive, as far as I'm aware. The only thing that can cause the crystal to lose electrons is ionizing radiation in a certain energy range. As long as there were procedures to ensure that the badges are only worn on the job, false positives shouldn't be an issue.
Yes, with standardized work-issued dosimeters, training, and strict obedience to policies, you will reduce false positives. They'll still happen, though. Some types of dosimeters will read positive if exposed to heat or sunlight. Some are sensitive to oils or dirt. One nuclear waste disposal facility had false positive rates around 5% per quarter (http://www.osti.gov/bridge/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=515496). They eventually found the lights in their building to be a major cause.
Now take that information and extrapolate it to using dosimeters in every airport in the nation. Even if the TSA deployed dosimeters as competently as a nuclear waste disposal facility, they would still get so many false positives that the dosimeters would be useless.
Nice pdfs, there does not seem to be a single item in there that matches your $10K fine for anything the guy did, in fact he has a bunch of police officers on hand as witnesses that he behaved impeccably. What specific reason (instead of links to a bunch of documents) do you see for them slapping a civil suit on him ? The gawker article reads: "He said that once I start the screening in the secure area, I could not l…
If the TSA is disbanded, then how do you suggest handling airport security? Who is in charge of it and who is responsible?
Airlines.
Airlines are the key.
I bet you that if someone setup website offering reasons not to fly, along with alternatives to flying - along with a catchy domain - and publicised the hell out of it in stories like these, the pressure from the airlines would become so great that the TSA would be gone (in its current form) within a month.
That's why you only wear your dosimetry when you're at work.
From all this uproar lately, sounds like work is a cardiac stress test for the TSA.
Not nearly as much as it is for the passengers.
For all the uproar, as of the last time I went through TSA security (about a week before the new "sexual assault" procedures started), the screeners seemed to be perfectly happy in their roles.
If the TSA is disbanded, then how do you suggest handling airport security? Who is in charge of it and who is responsible?
There was plenty sufficient airport security 10 years ago. The airlines and airports were perfectly capable of handling it then just as they are now.
Far be it from me to defend the TSA (its behavior and policies are outrageous), but your comment is simply wrong. Before September 11th, private companies handled airport security. After September 11th, airlines and airports were heavily criticized for relying on inadequately trained, low-paid employees for something as essential as security. Everyone in the world agreed that a federal agency must step in to do a better job, and the TSA is the result.
Is it common to say "Sir" when speaking to a police officer in the US? Where I come from, the police officer is expected to call you "Sir" and act as your servant.
If a lot of TSA employees wore dosimeters, chances are there would be at least one false positive and the media would latch onto it.
I work at a nuclear reactor, and for the type of dosimeters we wear on the job (thermoluminescent dosimeters), there's no chance of a false-positive, as far as I'm aware. The only thing that can cause the crystal to lose electrons is ionizing radiation in a certain energy range. As long as there were procedures to ensure that the badges are only worn on the job, false positives shouldn't be an issue.
As long as there were procedures to ensure that the badges are only worn on the job, false positives shouldn't be an issue.
And that's how your false positives happen. How many people would have to wear dosimetres? Would they be mandatory? How many people per year will leave them at home and borrow their workmate's dosimeter so the boss doesn't give out? How many will drive home in their uniforms? Go to the shops in their uniforms? There are loads of ways for errors to happen.
Nuclear reactors are (I'm guessing) very strict on their policys, it's foolish to extrapolate that to airport workers.
Here's something that came to mind after reading this article... What would happen if someone prior to boarding declined the AIT and also told any and all TSA agents that they are not allowed to touch their bodies. We know that leaving the checkpoint prior to complete screening can result in an $11,000 civil fine according to TSA (BTW, where is/does contract exist binding an individual to these rules/statues???) So, what would happen if they basically do the same thing as this gentleman. Refuse to leave due to the threat of a fine but also refuse to consent to anything else. If the TSA order you to be removed, perhaps for disorderly conduct or some other bogus offense, then how could they fine you? Since they were the ones that ordered you to leave prior to the complete screening? And how could they arrest you for disorderly conduct if you are behaving in a civil and polite manner? Eventually, the TSA will have to let you go unless they wish to have someone stay overnight with you when the airport closes... see what I'm getting to here? Refuse to voluntarily leave since you are under duress to stay (possible fine for leaving). Does anyone understand what I'm trying to say? I don't think I'm doing a great job explaining. All in all its, just getting yourself to a place/state that you can't leave since in order to leave voluntarily without giving up any of your rights you face possible punishment. Additionally the TSA will say that you are not being detained and you can leave... but you can't. Anyone want to protest by getting into this situation? Perhaps protesting until TSA explicitly says you are free to go and you will not be fined. They can't remove you and then fine you, right?
Additionally, what happens with a terrorist shoves a [plastic] bomb up his butt? Will they then switch over to only x-ray (as opposed to the radio wave) machines and up the juice to look into our bodies and/or require cavity searches?
Or even, how telling are these images from these machines? Could a determined person kill and animal or human, strip the skin and attach it with stitches to their own body to create a cavity to hold contraband? Perhaps making it look like a beer belly?