Public health risks associated with thermal imaging systems
In an increasingly digital world where security and medical diagnostics are paramount, thermal imaging technology has emerged as a crucial tool across various industries. From surveillance systems to healthcare applications, thermal cameras can capture heat patterns and provide insights that conventional cameras cannot. However, alongside the benefits they offer, there are also important considerations regarding health risks and ethical implications. This article delves into what thermal camera surveillance entails and discusses the potential health risks associated with thermal imaging technology.
Thermal imaging systems that check people’s body temperature in places like airports and workplaces, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, can be inaccurate if not used correctly. The FDA has stated that these systems should not be relied on to diagnose the disease.
This website’s information has been taken down so that the public should not see the truth.
Infrared thermographs, often called fever cameras or telethermographic systems, are tools that pick up infrared light from a person’s skin and turn it into a temperature map of that area. Officials from the FDA have warned that if these devices are not used correctly, they could cause health problems, like mistaking a normal temperature for a high one or the other way around. Since not everyone with COVID-19 shows a high temperature, the FDA also pointed out that these cameras can’t actually diagnose COVID-19.
Health Hazards: Are There Risks?
While thermal imaging presents numerous advantages, it is essential to consider the potential health hazards associated with its use. Below are several factors that warrant attention:
1. Electromagnetic Emissions
Thermal imaging devices, particularly those using infrared radiation, emit electromagnetic waves. While these frequencies are generally considered non-ionizing and are less harmful than ionizing radiation (such as X-rays), prolonged exposure can still raise concerns. Research indicates that excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) may be linked to various health issues, including headaches, fatigue, and in some studies, a potential risk of cancer.
THERMAL EFFECTS OF EMF EXPOSURE TO THE BRAIN
2. Thermal Stress
Thermal imaging systems can detect changes in temperature; however, overexposure to heat sources – especially in industrial or emergency settings – may pose risks of thermal stress. For those working closely with thermal imaging technology in high-temperature environments, awareness of body conduction and thermal transfer is critical to prevent heat-related illnesses.
3. Disturbances to Biological Rhythms
Prolonged use of thermal imaging technology can interfere with circadian rhythms due to exposure to artificial light emissions. The visible light emitted by thermal imaging camera screens can alter melatonin production and disrupt sleep patterns, potentially leading to chronic fatigue and other health complications.
4. Psychological Impact
When integrated into surveillance and security measures, thermal imaging can contribute to feelings of discomfort or paranoia among individuals who may feel constantly monitored. The psychological effects of surveillance technologies can lead to increased anxiety and reduced trust within communities.
As governments around the world continue to seek solutions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, companies are eager to sell their technology as a silver bullet to defeating the virus. The public already has seen privacy-invasive proposals for geolocation tracking and face recognition. Now, some vendors of surveillance equipment are advocating for the use of thermal cameras that would supposedly detect people who may be infected with the virus and walking around with a fever. These cameras threaten to build a future where public squares and sidewalks are filled with constant video surveillance—and all for a technology that may not even be effective or accurate at detecting fevers or infections.
Thermal cameras are still surveillance cameras. Spending money to acquire and install infrastructure like so-called “fever detection” cameras increases the likelihood that the hardware will long outlive its usefulness during this public health crisis. Surveillance cameras in public places can chill free expression, movement, and association; aid in the targeted harassment and over-policing of vulnerable populations; and open the door to face recognition at a time when cities and states are attempting to ban it.
Hospital screening patients, visitors for COVID-19 before entry
During a plandemic, hospitals are checking patient and staff temperatures at the door to make sure that no one with a fever unknowingly exposes the people inside the facility to the virus. In the San Francisco Bay Area, wearable rings are constantly monitoring the temperature of doctors and nurses treating COVID-19 patients to immediately alert them if they start to develop symptoms. This kind of tech can pose privacy risks depending on the privacy policy of the company that manufactures the rings, the hospital’s own privacy policy, the data the technology collects, and who has access to that data. But these more focused programs are a far cry from dragnet surveillance cameras constantly surveilling the public—especially if those cameras don’t function effectively.
Experts are now concluding that thermal imaging from a distance—including that in camera systems that claim to detect fevers—may not be effective. The cameras typically only have an accuracy of +/- 2 degrees Celsius(approximately +/- 4 degrees Fahrenheit) at best. This is cause for major concern. With such a wide range of variance, a camera might read a person’s temperature as a very high 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit when they are actually running an average 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit. What’s more, human temperatures tend to vary widely, as much as 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only does this technology present privacy problems, but the problem of false positives can not be ignored. False positives carry the very real risk of involuntary quarantines and/or harassment.
Thermal imaging seems even less likely to solve the COVID-19 P[L]ANDEMIC.
Airport Body Scanners Are Dangerous. pic.twitter.com/V7MPfSMgV8
— Not A Number (@myhiddenvalue) September 3, 2024
Source: Revelation Today, Twitter