A full-body scanner is a device that creates an image of a person's nude body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes or making physical contact. They are increasingly being deployed at airports and train stations in many countries.
They scan your entire person for concealed weapons, bomb-making material, and, as a bonus, for stuff like baggies of marijuana stuffed into trousers. They use various technologies, and as a front-line defense they'll be extremely useful.
Two advantages of full-body scanners over a physical strip search are that it is quicker (takes only 15 seconds) and that people do not have to be touched in a manner that some might consider offensive. Scans apply to everyone, avoid "profiling" with pat-downs. One of the problems of relying on selective security pat-downs is that it is often dependent upon assumptions surrounding a persons ethnicity or religion. Scanners avoid this by searching everyone without regard to race or religion. …show more content…
Furthermore, the true long-term health effects of the active, radiating technologies are unknown.
Full-body scanning technology allows screeners to see the nude surface of the skin under clothing, prosthetics including breast prostheses and prosthetic testicles, which may require a potentially embarrassing, hands-on physical inspection once detected. The scanners also can detect other medical equipment normally hidden, such as colostomy bags and catheters. Other privacy concerns come from transgendered community, who may feel that the routine full-body scans are embarrassing and could potentially lead to harassment. Airport employees in Lagos have been caught using full body scanner images as a type of