Film would have gone through x-ray scanning

[baachitraka]

I"m little worried that film would have gone through x-ray scanning at an air port in India. I have no idea what effect it would have on the film...

 

[Ian David]

If it went through the checked-in baggage scanners, your film may well be fogged. If it went through the ordinary carry-on scanner, it will be fine. There is a Kodak information sheet on this floating around somewhere...
Ian

EDIT: see below link:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml

 

[baachitraka]

Mine was in main luggage. I have tested a roll and but it is so difficult to find a lab which develops fim here in this part of the world.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Mine was in main luggage. I have tested a roll and but it is so difficult to find a lab which develops fim here in this part of the world.

Thanks for the info.

Probably fogged. The x-ray machines in India are often old, poorly maintained and poorly operated. In any event, you should NEVER put any film, exposed or unexposed, in your checked-in baggage. The machines used for detecting articles of "interest" in baggage headed for the aircraft are much more powerful than the ones used at the boarding gates for hand luggage you carry yourself. They will almost certainly fog the film. I've had it happen. I got quite paranoid about it for a long while but if passing through modern airports now I find that anything up to ISO400 is safe in my hand luggage but I also make sure I do not carry the same film for too many trips as the effects of the x-ray are cumulative. Even safer if you can use ISO 100-125.
I still ask for a hand inspection if I think/know it's available but it's a bit hard to argue with a uniformed army person carrying a gun - which is what you get at most Indian airport departure points. In that case I concede rather than miss my plane, get arrested or placed on some blacklist.

 

[kapro]

The only country in the world where I experienced hand inspection was Iceland. In the Germany I was forced to put the films twice thorough the scanners when transfered from Vienna to Iceland (+1 departure scan on Vienna airport). I had to let the scan even Delta 3200. After the three scans delta was definitelly fogged and even Tri-X and HP5 had little bit higher base fog. I don't remember exact values but films which didn't pass the scanner had base fog cca 0.15-0.18 and Tri-X after the three scans had around 0.25-0.30. I developed scanned and unscanned films in one tank and all films were of one batch. Unscanned I transported to the Iceland by car. I don't remember the values for Delta 3200 but it seems it was arround 0.45-0.5, maybe even more, I can't find my notes but the film was almost ruined (good luck it was only one exposed) - I remember I was pretty upset with Germans but as Leigh above me says - I was convinced to put it through a scanner by a gun hanging on a policeman's belt pretty soon..