Manchester Becomes First European Airport With Full Body Scanners

The United Kingdom's Manchester Airport last week claimed it has become the first airport in Europe to replace secondary hand searches of passengers with full body scans. Any passenger who fails the primary screening through a metal detector is subjected to the full scan using X-ray backscatter technology and image processing software aimed at detecting concealed objects.

As a result of introducing the scanner, initially only in Manchester's Terminal 2, passengers are being allowed to pass through the security process without removing their coats, jackets or shoes. The airport said it has introduced the process after securing an agreement with the European Commission. It had operated the scanner on a trial basis since October 2009.

U.S. airports already are deploying the same scanners. In recent days, however, several U.S. scientists have raised concerns that the X-rays produced by the machines carry a risk of cancer. The scientists have argued that authorities should instead use millimeter-wave scanners, which provide comparable images at a similar cost but do not carry any known radiation risk. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration deploys backscatter and millimeter-wave scanners in broadly equal numbers.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said, "The [U.K.] Health Protection Agency took a look at our scanners and was happy with them. It has been cleared by the experts. You would have to travel through the scanner many thousands of times a year to be affected."