One in Four Americans Oppose Full Body Scan at Airport Security: Poll

Roughly one-quarter of Americans say they would refuse a full body scan using new airport body scanners. A further 14.9 percent said new airport security measures have them concerned for their health, according to a Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

The survey, which asked respondents their opinions and concerns regarding flight safety, found the main reasons for resistance to new scanners were - exposure to radiation (22.6 percent), personal privacy violations (17.1 percent) and concerns the scanners violated their 4th Amendment rights (13.3 percent). Forty-seven percent of respondents expressed no concern with the technology.

While I applaud the survey participants' concern with radiation exposure, these scanners are safe. Based on the amount of radiation these machines produce, a traveler would have to take 2,000 plane rides before being subjected to the equivalence of a single chest x-ray, said Raymond Fabius, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters.

Thomson Reuters and NPR conduct a monthly poll to gauge attitudes and opinions on a wide range of health issues.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) came under scrutiny several times, over various cases of strip searches and pat-downs.