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| October 8, 2009 | Travellers to Europe could undergo full-body X-ray after bum bomb scare | | Melbourne: Tourists travelling to Europe could now be subjected to a full-body X-ray after a terrorist tried to kill a Saudi prince with a bomb he had inserted into his rectum in late
August. The travellers could also be forced to hand in mobile phones under the new security measures expected to be proposed soon. But civil liberties groups
have slammed the measures, saying they are akin to a "virtual strip search" and
passengers would be treated as drug smugglers. While medical experts have warned
health risks were too high for those who fly regularly. Trials of similar body
scanners took place at Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide airports last year. A spokesman
for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local
Government said the Australian Government was still reviewing the results. The
X-ray technology, which is high energy and claimed to be harmless, allows screeners
to detect non-metallic devices, objects and weapons concealed on a person's body,
and it also allows one to see a person's organs and genitals. French anti-terror
chiefs are believed to be suggesting the new measures following the terrorist
threat, and experts have said that if a terrorist detonated such a "bum bomb"
on a plane the result would be catastrophic. Australian Medical Association vice
president Dr Steve Hambleton said any move to X-ray may place regular travellers
at increased risk of cancer. "The main worry is that ionising radiation is dangerous;
we know it causes cancer when you get sufficient doses," News.com.au quoted him
as saying. "It's a problem for frequent travellers," he said. Civil liberties
expert Dr Bede Harris, from the University of Canberra, said it was important
to find a balance between the security needs of the public and privacy concerns.
"We live in a different environment in relation to safety than we did eight years
ago but that doesn't mean that any and every method of surveillance or searching
is necessarily lawful," Dr Harris said. "I think you have to look at the full
context of how things are done. "There may be a need if the X-rays are so revealing
as to amount to a strip search so only males or females are viewing the images
depending what line you are travelling through," Harris added. | |
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