Radioactive!

For the past several years I've felt very safe going on the occasional flight with film safely wrapped in my heavy duty, double laminated lead film bag designed to protect film up to ISO 1600. I was invincible, invulnerable, very much on the order of an aging analog demigod. But I recently read that all security has to do is ramp up their X-ray machines until they can see inside that sucker. Who knew!?!? Now, I really don't know what to think. Have they been double dosing their radiation all along to peek inside- or have they just quietly been giving me the pass? I have no clue... Actually, my film did go through a scanner unprotected when I visited the WTC memorial a couple of years back (the cops weren't making any exceptions). I somehow managed to keep both mouth and emotion in check- fortunately, no dire results; but no one wants to have their film X-rayed, voluntarily or otherwise- and sweat to see what does or doesn't happen...

Current wisdom says to just put the film naked in a transparent plastic bag and kindly ask security to hand inspect. For good measure, it's also said one should throw in a roll or two of 1600 ISO film, since 400 ISO is officially touted as the magic cut off point of the scanner safety limit- the high ISO presence would hopefully provide the needed incentive for them to grudgingly acquiesce and hand inspect.

So the question remains... this Sept. when I'm off visiting the folks in NYC, do I continue with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach, or do I dispense with the supposed facade of (non)protection altogether, and accept the possibility that I've just been flying lucky all along???