Alison Young Investigates

Inspections lax at labs working with bioterror germs

Government inspections often failed to detect important safety and security lapses at laboratories working with dangeorus germs and toxins that can be used as bioterror weapons, a recent audit found. Meanwhile, a new GAO report says the United States is at increased risk of accidents at these high-containment labs because there continue to be no national standards for their design, construction and maintenance. 

Read my full story in USA TODAY: Reports warn of lax inspections, bioterror lab risks

Expert questions TSA's use of X-rays on airline passengers

At a House oversight committee hearing Wednesday, a national expert in radiation risks questioned why the Transportation Security Administration would use full-body X-ray scanners on passengers when the agency has another type of machine that doesn't expose people to any ionizing radiation. "X-rays are a carcinogen," said David Brenner, director of Columbia University's Center for Radiological Research. About half of the nearly 500 full-body scanners TSA has installed so far at airports use X-rays; the others use millimeter waves, a technology that Brenner said has no known health risks. TSA officials testified that both technologies are safe. Meanwhile, records show that TSA knew about problems in its radiation inspection program on Dec. 15, but waited nearly three months before releasing information publicly last Friday. Read the full USA TODAY story: TSA defends safety of scanners

TSA retests full-body X-ray machines after USA Today inquiry

 
For months the Transportation Security Administration has assured the public and members of Congress that its controversial full-body airport X-ray scanners have passed all their radiation inspections -- yet refused USA TODAY's repeated requests since Nov. 26 to see the actual reports. The agency has now released a sampling of the records and they are riddled with so many errors the TSA is requiring contractors be retrained and all machines be re-tested by the end of March. The reports showed radiation levels on some machines were 10 times higher than expected. The TSA says the numbers simply reflect math errors, all the machines passed inspections and the new tests are just a precaution. Read the full story in USA TODAY: TSA to retest airport body scanners for radiation

USA TODAY previously reported on TSA's refusal to release the radiation inspection reports: 'Inexcusable' delay on TSA body-scanner safety reports

In December USA TODAY reported that a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the TSA and its contractors had failed in the past to detect when X-ray machines used on baggage emitted excessive levels of radiation or had key safety features disabled. Read those reports at: TSA workers, experts worry about radiation exposure and Lawmakers call on TSA to release X-ray inspection reports

TSA still won't release X-ray reports for body scanners

More than 15 million passengers have been put through new full-body scanners at U.S. airports and the Transportation Security Administration has told members of Congress that there hasn't been a single malfunction that might have exposed anybody to an excessive dose of radiation. But the TSA still hasn't released any of its X-ray inspection reports, two months after members of Congress called for transparency after USA TODAY was unable to gain access to the records. The TSA says it's still reviewing the reports for "sensitive information." The chairman of a House homeland security subcommittee calls the delay "inexcusable."  Read the full story: 'Inexcusable' delay on TSA body-scanner safety reports

USA TODAY previously reported that a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the TSA and its contractors had failed in the past to detect when X-ray machines used on baggage emitted excessive levels of radiation or had key safety features disabled. Read those reports at: TSA workers, experts worry about radiation exposure and Lawmakers call on TSA to release X-ray inspection reports