The Dangers of Air Travel
As if traveling conditions weren’t stressful enough, we now have to worry about the food being served during the flight and the new body scanners at security.
The FDA recently found many major airlines were violating health and sanitation inspections. It was reported that airline food providers such as LSG Sky Chefs, Gate Gourmet, and Flying Food Group who provide food for some of the largest carriers such as Delta, American, United, US Airways, and Continental all violated inspections. Food was prepared in unsanitary and unsafe conditions such as being stored at the wrong temperature, which led to bacteria growth. Many of the employees had poor hygiene and were preparing food with unclean equipment. It gets worse, at some locations cockroaches, flies, mice, and other pests were discovered. Better play it safe and plan ahead with a packed lunch from home, just leave out the liquids!
The security line is always the worst part about traveling, but it could be detrimental to your health as well. The new full body scanners have gotten a bad rep from the get go but for reasons other than health. A new study has shown these scanners could increase the risk of skin cancer.
The dose of radiation from the scanners may be twenty times higher than first estimated, scientists say. Your skin is one of the most radiation-sensitive organs in your body. A small dose of radiation from the lower level beam concentrates on the skin and can lead to a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma. It is usually curable and often occurs in the head or neck of someone who is between 50 to 70 years old. Danger for this skin cancer for the average person is very low, but some people could be more sensitive to radiation than others and it is particularly risky for children. The scanners are another example of heavy metal toxicities that we are bombarded with such as wifi, microwave ovens, cell phones, satellites, x-rays, cell towers, etc. Each of these things individually, we may be able to handle. However, the damage accumulates and over time and could really add up.
