Overview of the use and radiological protection of body scanner equipment in Brazil

After security incidents in recent years, there is a growing need for security at airports, ports and prisons. In the fight against terrorism, smuggling and illegal entry of material, X-rays are used for non-invasive inspection of people. Traditionally, surveillance has been done exclusively on people by metal detection techniques or by intimate search. But in today's globalized world, and given concern for international security, governments are considering introducing a new series of technologies at airports and prisons, which reveal what an individual can carry under their clothes when traveling or entering visitation in prisons. Body inspection equipment, also called body scanners or 'body scanner', which can detect metallic and non-metallic objects hidden in a person's body, such as weapons, drugs, precious stones, cell phones, etc. This work shows the types of body inspection equipment, the radiation doses involved, and the radiation protection aspects that are critical to maintaining the safety of all users