Saturday, December 24, 2005

 

FBI Invades Privacy Re Radioactive Materials


In yet another intrusion on privacy, it was revealed earlier this week that government agencies have deployed radiation detection equipment not only at ports and subway stations, but also around private property. Radiation alarms have been given to police and fire departments. Worn on the belt like a cell phone, the devices can detect high levels of radiation eminating from private property. A spokesman for the Justice Department claimed these were "passive operations" conducted in a manner "that protects US constitutional rights".

Public outcry over threats to privacy and civil liberties caused the scrapping of the Pentagon's system for tracking terror suspects and Homeland Security's program for screening airline passengers. The same fate may await this program. The Council on American-Islamic Relations claimed that checking for radiation eminating from mosques and private homes constitutes a diminished set of rights for Muslims. The FBI insisted that it "does not target any group based on ethnicity, political or religious belief."

Those that wonder whether anyone should be able to conceal materials for a dirty or nuclear bomb should realize that these items are not the only possible source of detectible radiation. Many homes, particularly those in the mountains, can accumulate radon, a radioactive gas, in their basements. When such accumulations reach lethal levels, they might be detectible by these belt detectors provided to the police and firemen. So how would you like them knocking on your door on such a pretext?

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