Judge: DHS must release scanner radiation reports

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Homeland Security must release two safety reports it conducted in the 2000s evaluating the radiation safety of body-scanning machines.

The chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, Royce Lamberth, ruled Thursday that the agency improperly withheld 2006 and 2008 reports in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The request was filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research center in Washington that focuses on privacy issues and civil liberties.

The reports were done on two different versions of an airport screening machine made by American Science & Engineering.

Lamberth ruled that the agency properly withheld other materials sought in the request.