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Inventor Sells TSA Scanner-Busting Underwear

DENVER (CBS) — As the Thanksgiving travel season kicks into high gear, a Colorado man says 'tis the season for one gift whose time has come: tungsten-lined underwear.

Inventor Jeff Buske tells the Los Angeles Times that demand is soaring for the specially-tailored trousers amid growing public outcry over new security measures from the Transportation Security Administration that has passengers having to choose between the lesser of what many say are two privacy invasions.

Pledging to protect the "traveling public, airline, medical, and security professionals from radiation generated by security and medical imaging equipment", Buske, the owner of Rocky Flats Gear, says the "inevitable backlash" over the rapid body-scanner rollout at U.S. airports is fueling his booming business.

Buske claims his experience as a former designer of X-ray machines for General Electric has convinced him that the radiation backscatter machines are unsafe, citing not only health concerns but also privacy fears.

"I don't want pictures of my wife on the internet," Buske says.

However, travelers opting to sport the reinforced undies may run into some snags while going through airport security: if screeners are not satisfied with the imaging, they may resort to more aggressive measures.

As TSA spokesman Nico Melendez told the L.A. Times: "If there is an anomaly that needs to be resolved, a pat-down would occur."

But if you're wearing one of Buske's custom carriages, at least you can be secure knowing you'll be patted down in style.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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