X-Ray Scanners in Washington, D.C.-Did They Kill My Film?

I went on a trip to Washington D.C. last week with my Father. We had

a great time, and saw a lot of things that we didn't get to the last

time we were there. However, as no one in Washington considers

themselves unimportant enough to not be attacked, almost everywhere

you go you have to go through a metal detector and have your bags

scanned by an X-ray machine. The X-ray machines had labels on them

saying that they weren't harmful to photographic film, and there was

obviously no negotiating with the guards, so I had to put my camera

bag through the machine a total of seven times. It was ASA 400 speed

Color print film (Fujicolor Press 400.) Has the repeated exposure to

X-rays ruined my film?

I suggest getting a roll processed. That way you can see if there's damage.

Your film will be fine, as will the film of the other millions of people who visit those places and have to put their bags through th scanners.

 

<<as no one in Washington considers themselves unimportant enough to not be attacked, >>

 

It's not so much what Washingtonians think, it is what terrorists expect U.S. citizens will think in the aftermath of an attack. The terrorists expect (honestly, they KNOW) that they don't need to hurt any bigwigs to accomplish their goal of shaking up the USA. We Americans get just as upset if the terrorists kill a bunch of tourists in t-shirts.

 

Your trip coincided with the Washington area being on "orange" alert. Just be grateful it wasn't "mauve" or "beet" or even "red."

 

Sorry your trip to the capital city was made less enjoyable by worry about your film. But honestly, you can stop worrying. It's fine.

 

Be well,

Well, I just got my negatives back from the lab, and when I scanned them, my pictures did indeed look terrible. The worst ones looked similar to a sepia toned black and white picture, but even the best still had a brownish cast to them. Thank God for automatic color correction in Photoshop Elements. Next time I'll have to invest in a lead lined film bag.

I could be wrong, but that doesn't sound like the symptoms of excessive x-ray exposure to me.

 

Sorry the pictures came out poorly!

 

Be well,

Andrew, I recently flew in and out of Reagan National and was

told by the security guards that no film was safe in the x-ray

machines; they've been upgraded recently because of the

terrorism threat and even slower speed films will be damaged.

(In fact there's a sign recommending that you take any film out of

your luggage before sending it through .) When I checked my

bags, I took all of the film out of them and carried it in my

pockets--I don't think the walk-through metal detectors would do

any harm.

That doesn't sound like the symptoms of excessive x-ray exposure to me either. Some examples are shown here:<P>

<a href=http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml#SEC47><U>http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml#SEC47</U></a>

Sepia toned would lead me to think it was underexposed. Were they grainy too?

I don't think that it could be underexposure, as all of the negatives had the sypmtom to some degree. Then again, it may not have been the X-ray machines either. If it wasen't the X-ray machine, then I don't know what did it, as it couldn't happen at the airport, because we took the train. Here is an example of what I mean.<div></div>

I think that looks like X-ray damage.

 

There was a post in another thread that said that the machines they use in buildings are many times more powerful than the airport machines, and they WILL damage your film. They are cheaper machines, and I gather that they use brute-force to get their results, rather than high-sensitivity.

If it is X-ray damage, then why are there signs on the scanners saying that they will not harm photographic film?

Why the signs?

 

To get you to comply without slowing down the line, I'd guess.

 

Here's where I read about the machines:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009EL1