European Union BANS full body airport scanners over safety concerns... so why are they still allowed in the US?

European Union BANS full body airport scanners over safety concerns... so why are they still allowed in the US?(DM).Controversial airport 'strip-search' full body scanners are to be scrapped after they failed to get approval from European bosses. Experts feared the 'naked' body scanners, which use X-ray technology to show up hidden explosives or weapons, could emit harmful levels of cancer-causing radiation. The move in Europe begs the question -- why are they still allowed in the United States? Hundreds of the devices are in use at at least 68 airports across the nation. 
New trials of the device, which display a 'naked' image of the person being scanned - were blocked by the European Commission last November. But Manchester Airport, the only airport in Europe using the $130,000 machines, was told it could continue using them for another year. Now, after the machines have come to the end of their three year trial, European Commission chiefs have failed to give their approval for their full time use. EC bosses eventually declared the risk was 'close to zero' in a report in May -- and Manchester airport expected the technology would be approved for permanent use. But bosses were left waiting for the green light and now say they have been left with no option but to axe the 16 security machines because Brussels legislation does not allow security trials to exceed a three-year period. As Manchester airport introduced the scanners as part of a security pilot in October 2009, they will have to scrap the machines at the end of next month. The scanners have been controversial among flyers since they were introduced in force at US airports in 2010. The Transportation Security Administration began installing hundreds of the devices after the foiled Christmas Day 2009 attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound passenger jet with an underwear bomb. The TSA insists that research shows the devices do no emit harmful levels of radiation, but the issues is far from settled in the minds of many flyers -- some of whom opt for full-body pat-downs instead of passing through the machines. Last month, Long Island Rep Steve Israel said greater study and oversight of the machines was needed -- especially in cases when they broke down. The report from the EC's Committee in May said radiation doses were 'very low' compared with other sources such as cosmic radiation received during flights. But it did add that the long-term effects, such as cancer risks, could not be 'entirely excluded'. American academic Dr David Brenner said he believed the scanner could deliver up to 20 times more radiation to the skin than previously thought - potentially increasing the risk of skin cancer. Fears were also raised that the scanners were an invasion of privacy and some passengers and religious groups had questioned their use. Research has suggested that, despite the low radiation dosage, that because of the large number of scanners in the U.S., hundreds of passengers a year could get cancer. When there were 250 scanners in the U.S. last year, research suggested up to 100 passengers a year could get cancer.Read the full story here.