How to Know If Your Package Has Been Exposed to X-Rays

X-rays allow security personnel to spot weapons stored in travelers' luggage.

X-rays examine the unseen without opening a container. Security agents scan travelers and their luggage for hidden weapons. They also X-ray packages for security purposes. Usually packages that have been transported by aircraft or sent to the White House and other government buildings are X-rayed to screen for bombs and to irradiate the contents to prevent the spread of biological weapons. You can learn if a package has been X-rayed by determining how it traveled and where.

Instructions

1. Check the delivery method for the type of package that you are concerned has been X-rayed. If the package was sent via Priority Mail, Express Mail or international mail, the package may have been transported by aircraft.

2. Find out where the package originated. If the package came overnight from a location within your city, it was not exposed to an X-ray. If the package arrived overnight from overseas or a domestic location farther away than a reasonable driving distance, it was X-rayed before being transported by aircraft. Confirm the destination for the package. If the package was delivered inside a government building, security personnel X-rayed it.

3. Examine the contents of the package. If the package contains undeveloped film, X-raying would have ruined it. Attempt to develop the film. If you cannot develop it, then the package was definitely X-rayed.

References

• Kodak: Baggage X-ray Scanning Effects on Film
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Mail Irradiation