Safety Concerns Surrounding Security Metal Detectors

When it comes to safety concerns of metal detector use, this aspect alone can be explored at different levels.  People use metal detectors everyday all around the world as an ongoing effort to keep us safe.  But, ongoing use of such devices has the everyday consumer along with researchers and security experts asking themselves how safe are these devices and what other risks are there in using them?  Exploring this concept can be done by reviewing a few areas of concern.

Are There Potential Health Risks Surrounding Metal Detector Use?

This topic alone has many organizations around the world against the idea of using metal detectors.  Airports, for example, use various types of metal detectors including hand-held and walk-through.  Some believe metal detectors are powerful in which they can affect gene development within the body, especially metal detectors that use x-rays.  This has been a concern not only for ordinary people, but for pregnant women as well. The being said most metal detectors like these ones are completely safe.

While this aspect continues to be studied, metal detectors for the most part have been deemed as safe for everyone.  Medical experts, on the other hand, warn that installation or use of such devices should not include x-rays since some people have been known to develop an allergic reaction due to the magnetic elements.

What about People with Medical Implants or Devices?

Anyone with a medical device or implant may be nerve when learning they need to walk through or be checked by a metal detector.  Sometimes, as medical surgeons refer to as a lost screw, it is possible for someone to have a device such as a pacemaker or surgical implant with just that; a small screw that has gotten loose from the device and found in another area of the body.  In this case, the patient would need surgery to remove it.  It has been known for people with a pacemaker to pass through a metal detector and their heart skips a beat.  This is not known to be harmful but it may happen due to the influence of the detector.  Some with certain types of hearing aids may walk through and sound off the detector.  They may experience a buzzing sound afterwards that poses no serious threat to the ear itself.

Emergency Room Personnel Express Their Concerns for Metal Detectors

According to the Department of Emergency Medicine, a large number of physicians and nurses who work in hospital emergency rooms have growing concerns about their safety and want metal detectors to be used more often at emergency care entrances.  Only 11 percent of the general public who participated in a survey about the matter was concerned about the possibility of physical harm in the emergency department.

To find out more info read our article titled “Are Metal Detectors Safe“