Any real danger from airport x-ray ?

[guylewis30]

I think of buying some unprocessed K40 rolls and have them shipped abroad.Anyone think this is bad idea due to the fact that airport x-ray would damage my film or have you guys experinced otherwise?

Thanks!

[S8 Booster]

if you search the forum you will find 46 hits on "x-ray" and many of them will describe the best method.
search.php
search x-ray.

s8hôôt

[guylewis30]

OK Thanks!

[Will2]

I think of buying some unprocessed K40 rolls and have them shipped abroad.Anyone think this is bad idea due to the fact that airport x-ray would damage my film or have you guys experinced otherwise?

Thanks!

I am here to tell you that 500T will be ruined if you put it in your luggage on a plane and they use the luggage x-ray machine. That thing is very high powered and I've had several reels destroyed because of it. Lower speed film like K40 isn't affected as much.

[kentbulza]

In the USA, TSA will allow hand inspection of your film upon request. Be prepared to open boxes and allow extra time for that. I haven't traveled overseas since 9/11/2001, but have traveled many times domestically, and always have my film inspected by hand. In one case that meant hundreds of rolls of film, but it's worth the effort. X-rays always affect film, although on slow stocks the effect is minimal, and it's cummulative.

[matt5791]

I really think that you don't need to worry about K40 unless you are travelling where very old Xray machines are in use.

I always carry my films in hand luggage.

Last year I went to Hawaii and this is how many time my film was scanned (a wide array of still and motion picture emulsions, including 500T super8 and 200T)

London Heathrow security
San Francisco agricultural check
San Francisco departure security
Kauai, Hawaii agriculture check
Kauai departure agriculture check
Kauai departure security
LA departure security

I managed to persuade the officials in Kauai not to Xray my bag a THIRD time on departure when entering the departure lounge!!

The films were fine.

I did once leave some super8 in my checked luggage including some 800T from Pro 8 on a flight from Barcelona to the UK - with no problems, but I would not recommend taking the risk (this was after 9/11 too) I've never done it again.

Matt

[Arislan]

I think of buying some unprocessed K40 rolls and have them shipped abroad.Anyone think this is bad idea due to the fact that airport x-ray would damage my film or have you guys experinced otherwise?

Thanks!

Just clarify one thing: you are shipping it through the mail or are you traveling by plane yourself and taking it along?

[tlatosmd]

Hand baggage x-ray is usually alright, checked luggage is not.

[guylewis30]

I was thinking of ordering it by air mail but what you guys are saying makes me a little worried that it will be treated poorly...I'm going to be in the US in March--Is it possible to have them shipped to my motel so it waits for me when I get there??? Has anybody ever done that??

[Evan Kubota]

Maybe this is a good place to ask - what's the consensus on the safety of shipping USPS for exposed, unprocessed film? Priority mail would be cheaper and faster than UPS ground, but I'm worried about X-rays... OTOH, UPS doesn't guarantee that they don't. This is Tri-X, FWIW. Risky, or OK to send via USPS?

[etimh]

In the USA, TSA will allow hand inspection of your film upon request. Be prepared to open boxes and allow extra time for that.

Actually, things have changed with the new TSA rules, or so an agent told me when I flew at Christmas. Read about my experience here:

viewtopic.php?t=12474&highlight=holiday+experience

Evidently, and I can't find "official" confirmation of this anywhere, they are required to now x-ray all "cartridge" type film--Super 8 included.

My experience of encountering a cool guy at LAX who hand-checked it regardless was unique, I guess.

Of course, you should always request hand inspection but whether they'll do it anymore seems to be up for debate.

Tim

[Arislan]

Maybe this is a good place to ask - what's the consensus on the safety of shipping USPS for exposed, unprocessed film? Priority mail would be cheaper and faster than UPS ground, but I'm worried about X-rays... OTOH, UPS doesn't guarantee that they don't. This is Tri-X, FWIW. Risky, or OK to send via USPS?

You talking about my carts or something else? ;-) I've always shipped my Tri-X to MN for processing at Film & Video Services. Never had trouble domestically.

We'll soon find out, internationally, won't we?

[etimh]

Maybe this is a good place to ask - what's the consensus on the safety of shipping USPS for exposed, unprocessed film? Priority mail would be cheaper and faster than UPS ground, but I'm worried about X-rays... OTOH, UPS doesn't guarantee that they don't. This is Tri-X, FWIW. Risky, or OK to send via USPS?

I sent sooper8fan one cart of Plus-X and one Tri-X via the USPS. I did plaster the package with those Kodak "Do Not X-Ray" labels, but who knows if anyone paid attention to them.

We should get the word from sooper to see how the film looks after he shoots it and gets it processed. Checking for any possible adverse affects from potential x-ray zapping.

Tim

[guylewis30]

Hey guys,check out what this guy has to say about airport x-ray:


http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/pf-faq/faq-31.html


Note 31.5 -< X-Ray machines at airports >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some logic surrounding X-ray inspections of films

Yesterday I saw a science magazine on public television wich, among other
topics, had a report on airport x-ray machines. It was quite short, but with
some math and commom sense I was able to deduce the following.

_MODERN_ airport x-ray machines use such low radiation doses, that you would
have to pass something through them 1000 (one thousand) times to equal the
(average) annual "natural" radiation background. "Natural" in this case
includes the radiation found in houses due to the decay of radioactive isotopes
found in the building-material.

Assuming (for simplicity) a year had 10,000 hours (actually its less than
8,800) this would mean that one pass through a _MODERN_ x-ray machine (stressed
here for the last time ... I _know_ that there are old ones with higher doses
out there) would correspond to a ten hour normal storage for a film (at
sea-level).

At an altitude of 10km (33,000 for "non-metricists") --- quite a normal
cruising altitude for airplanes --- the radiation intensity is increased a
hundredfold compared to sea-level. Repeating the calculation from above leads
to the equivalent of one pass through the x-ray machine every six (!!) minutes
if you are travelling at this height. In other words; if you're taking a long
distance flight, your films will get the equivalent of TEN (10 !!) passes
through the airports x-ray for EVERY HOUR of the flight.

So I wouldn't blame the airport security for exessive fogging of film.
Lead-shielded bags probably aren't much of a help either, since the atmospheres
radiation stopping capability is equivalent to a three foot thick lead shield,
and you've already got three fourths (3/4) of the atmosphere below you at 10km
height. Who would pay the air fare for a hundred (hundreds of ???) pounds of
lead just to shield her or his films ?!?

**************************************************************************
Klaus Bagschik, Radioastronomisches Institut der Universit"at,
Auf dem H"ugel 71, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
e-mail: kbagschi@astro.uni-bonn.de
Tel.: +49-228-73-5658 -3643 Fax: +49-228-73-3672

[Evan Kubota]

"You talking about my carts or something else? I've always shipped my Tri-X to MN for processing at Film & Video Services. Never had trouble domestically."

Yours and mine... I have 700' of 16mm Tri-X that are exposed and going to the lab. I think I'll go with USPS...