About the 2 types of new airport scanners. One with radiation,

[pnwmom]

the other using microwaves.

Does anyone know why the government decided to use 2 kinds of scanners? Why they didn't just decide to use the microwave type (that has lower risks)?

[KT2000]

1. I think it is radio waves

The Netherlands uses them.
Lobbying efforts and strategically placed past government employees probably dictated the kind of machine the US uses - even though the radiowave scans are from the US.+
I think microwaves would be dangerous.

[AdHocSolver]

2. Depending on the design, microwave scanners could be as dangerous as xray scanners.

Microwave energy is the same form of energy used to cook the food in a microwave oven.

Depending on the power output of the device, the amount and length of exposure, and similar factors, microwave scanners could cause damage to the eye, the brain, and other organs of the body. Microwave exposure could "cook" bodily tissues like a microwave oven cooks food.

The use of microwave scanners may make travelers think that they were safer than x-ray scanners. This is not true. In fact, microwave scanners could cause damage more immediately than x-ray scanners.

Since cell phones work at microwave frequencies, the cumulative exposure to microwave scanners experienced by frequent travelers, who may also use cell phones a lot, may be as bad as exposure to the x-ray scanners.