by Bailey Haack
The Transportation Security Administration ordered re-testing on Friday of all 247 full-body scanners in use after a review of maintenance records showed radiation levels were higher than expected, and calculation errors were found in the records.
The TSA said that the record errors are simply math mistakes, according to USA Today. They said that even the highest numbers of radiation reported would still be less than what a person absorbs in a day through natural background radiation.
Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security secretary, told a Senate committee that the machines are "more than safe."
According to a CNN News report, she said that the amount of radiation emitted is about the same as a person would receive in two minutes in an airplane.
Sen. Susan Collins said that there were problems in more than a quarter of the TSA reports. According to CNN, she said they included "gross errors about radiation emissions."
The TSA announced that, in addition to retesting the machines, they will require their maintenance contractors to retrain the employees who are involved with conducting and overseeing the radiation measurement process, according to USA Today.
The tests on the machines will be finished by the end of the month. USA Today said the results will be released as they are completed.
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