TSA defends privacy, safety of imaging machines

The Transportation Security Administration is defending its privacy policy at airports and the safety of an advanced imaging machine that transmits low radiation doses.

Testifying before skeptical House members on Wednesday, two TSA officials said imaging machines at airports have software that prevents images from being retained, stored or transmitted.

They also insisted a single screening from a "backscatter" machine produces radiation similar to a dose from approximately two minutes of flying on an airplane at 30,000 feet.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, said he isn't convinced privacy is being protected. A Columbia University radiology researcher testified despite a low risk to an individual, it's possible radiation from the machines could cause cancer in 100 people a year.