Traveling by plane to Phoenix? And elsewhere.

torchthatbird · 02-24-2007, 11:25 PM

February 24, 2007
New Airport X-Rays Scan Bodies, Not Just Bags
By PAUL GIBLIN and ERIC LIPTON
PHOENIX, Feb. 23 — X-ray vision has come to the airport checkpoint here, courtesy of federal aviation security officials who have installed a new device that peeks underneath passengers’ clothing to search for guns, bombs or liquid explosives.

The new body scanning machine, which went into use on Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and will be tested later at airports in Los Angeles and New York, will screen only volunteers, at least initially. Transportation Security Administration officials want to make sure the machine is reliable and fast enough to replace the traditional pat-down — and that it does not provoke too many protests.

Security officials examining the head-to-toe images work in a closed booth, hidden from public view, agency officials said. Special “privacy” software intentionally blurs the image, creating an outline of a body that is clear enough to see a collarbone, bellybutton or weapon, but flattens details of revealing contours.

Kenneth Johnson, 64, of Mesa, was the first passenger screened on Friday in Phoenix. He said he had titanium implants in both shoulders and one knee that set off alarms at checkpoint metal detectors.

“I’ve been all over the world; I’ve been strip-searched,” Mr. Johnson, who was traveling to Florida, told an Associated Press reporter. “This was very easy.”

Others found the scans objectionable.

“I think that is a violation of people’s personal rights,” said Kara Neal, 36, a mental health counselor on her way to Philadelphia. She was not asked to undergo the screening, but said she would have refused. “I would rather take a pat-down than go through this,” she said.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have raised similar objections, calling the X-ray scan a “virtual strip-search,” and have urged Congress to prohibit its use for routine screening.

The vending-machine-size device, which costs about $110,000, will be used only when passengers are pulled aside for a more thorough check, known as secondary screening, after passing through a metal detector. Other scanning machines will be installed this year at Los Angeles International Airport and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

While security agency officials say the machines, known as SmartCheck, pose no health hazards, some experts disagree. The machine, manufactured by American Science and Engineering Inc. of Billerica, Mass., generates about as much radiation as a passenger would get flying for about two minutes at about 30,000 feet, or in technical terms, fewer than 10 microRem per scan, according to security agency and company officials. The machine is already being used in some prisons, by United States customs and at Heathrow Airport in London.

Dr. Albert J. Fornace Jr., an expert in molecular oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center, said such a low dose was inconsequential, even for pregnant women.

“Obviously, no radiation is even better than even a very low level,” Dr. Fornace said. “But this is trivial.”

But David J. Brenner, a professor of radiation oncology at Columbia University, said that even though the risk for any individual was extremely low, he would still avoid it.

“The question is, Do you want to add to your already existing risk?” Professor Brenner said, recommending that pregnant women and young children, in particular, avoid the device. “There are other technologies around that can probably do the job just as well without the extra radiation.”

The machine beams a low-energy X-ray at the passenger, which after it bounces off the surface of the skin is processed by computer software that highlights metals or elements like nitrogen that are found in explosives or weapons.

The X-ray is not strong enough to penetrate much beyond the skin, so it cannot find weapons that may be hidden in body cavities.

“A lot of people aren’t really comfortable with a pat-down,” said Ellen Howe, a security agency spokeswoman, “so they may find this to be an alternative they may appreciate.” She added that the X-ray images would be destroyed immediately.

Aviation security officials are rushing to bring new screening devices to airports because of the London-based plot last summer to use liquid explosives to blow up airliners headed to the United States.

The devices now used at the nation’s airports, the X-ray machine for carry-on bags and the metal detector for passengers, rely on 1950s-era technology that cannot reliably detect liquid or plastic explosives.

Earlier efforts by the federal security agency to introduce more advanced checkpoint technologies have stumbled, including the so-called puffer machines, which blow air on passengers to search for minute traces of explosives.

After installing 94 of the machines at 37 airports, officials suspended the program last year, saying the devices broke down too often. More puffer machines may be bought if the problems can be resolved.

Officials intend to try other alternatives, like a so-called millimeter wave machine that uses harmless radio waves, instead of X-rays, to do a full body scan.

Ms. Howe said that until the tests on the SmartCheck were complete, it was unclear how widely used the machines would be. “We are committed to testing it,” she said. “But we are not committed to deploying it widely until we learn more.”

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firsttimer2065 · 02-25-2007, 09:52 AM

If one insists on bringing some sort of item that would be frowned upon, take a train or boat. The security checks are usually a joke, if they even conduct one.

Buska · 02-25-2007, 11:26 PM

What a terrible time for aviation. Is this what it's really come to? Are we still allowed to bring bottled water on a plane, I forget...

And lol at the "Privacy" software... like that's going to blur out the cellulite, chest stitches or burn scar that you are mortified about. Who mentions 'privacy' in an article about a pushbutton stripsearch anyway.

Prophit · 02-26-2007, 10:18 PM

I saw the device on the news yesterday,, its not that bad w/ the filter on...people look like the gingerbread man, just a cookie cutter outline...if youve got some implants or someything theyll definitely show though...to be honest its probably not as bad as a pat-down (w/ the filter.) Without the filter its like youre in some medical fetish magazine ass naked...just another blatant waste of taxpayer $$$ by our friends in congress.

bryansm · 02-27-2007, 12:02 PM

fly by small planes/airports, there are a efw small airports around the Phoenix area.
it may cost u a lil more but so do court fees.
small airports almost always have really crappy security

If it makes u feel better my friend brought a half ounce packed behind his nuts ( ground up and extreamly compressed ) from Atl to Telluride, CO ( instead of Denver ) and flew back with a a little less than an ounce of Big BudxPurple Urkle. He even got picked for random search in telluride on the way back.
However, every now and then we would both get a whiff of the pot.
worth noting that we did fly at peak times (two days after christmas)

Just decide for yourself if its worth the risk....my

choader · 03-02-2007, 02:36 PM

Remember, you can opt for the pat down instead. Not that I'm advocating this, but I was talking to a guy on a plane who said many of his friends fly with weed on a regular basis (he volunteered this info, I didn't bring it up). He said they put it in their underwear so that unless they do get a strip search (highly unlikely), it won't be found. Obviously it has to fit in that space without looking funny so it's not like someone could put a 1/4 lb in their pants and get away with it.

I of course acted outraged.

I asked if his friends were worried about pat downs and he laughed saying that wasn't an issue. His friends told him they had been patted down and didn't worry.

If I were to carry something, I'd avoid the "puffer" too.

Bottom line, don't take chances.

Choader

litebuzz · 03-05-2007, 06:53 PM

i always found it much easier to put it in my check in luggage...take a tampon cardboard thingie..stuff it full, slide the paper back over it and put it in the box with the other 40 plugs. never more than a quarter oz. another thing i've done is wrap my bat(dug out)in wrapping paper and have a gift tag on it..ya know like its a gift for someone. i guess i take my chances but its been worth it...can't imagine being stuck somewhere for 5 days without my mj fix.

hotsauce · 03-06-2007, 05:52 AM

You aren't subject to the backscatter if you dont fail the metal detector test. And you can opt out of it, in lieu of pat down.

Chances are the technology wont hit a lot of airports due to the ccost, as that machine is on loan to TSA

old_greg · 03-06-2007, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choader

Remember, you can opt for the pat down instead. Not that I'm advocating this, but I was talking to a guy on a plane who said many of his friends fly with weed on a regular basis (he volunteered this info, I didn't bring it up). He said they put it in their underwear so that unless they do get a strip search (highly unlikely), it won't be found. Obviously it has to fit in that space without looking funny so it's not like someone could put a 1/4 lb in their pants and get away with it.

I of course acted outraged.

I asked if his friends were worried about pat downs and he laughed saying that wasn't an issue. His friends told him they had been patted down and didn't worry.

If I were to carry something, I'd avoid the "puffer" too.

Bottom line, don't take chances.

Choader

Speak for ya self Pe-wee

Sorry, Couldn't resist..

BigTigga · 03-08-2007, 02:45 PM

I need to pu my

in this one. If you buy your ticket under an hour before the plane takes off. They will ALWAYS do a second search and do it well. So... if you mess a plane flight up and have to board a new one very soon... you might get a second look. I did and oh how the FBI does not like weed brownies and two grams of green. I had my card so they let me go and kept the stuff. That was a fair trade I would say.
All Big air ports are run by the FBI. Just incase some people on this site did not have a good understanding of that

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