A new, less invasive scanner has been installed in airports around the United States.

With controversy still surrounding the Transportation Security Administration’s decision to install airport scanners that allow TSA employees to see through the clothing of individual passengers, the new scanner has been installed in airports in Salt Lake City, Utah, Miami International Airport, and a number of other airports around the country.

It is believed that this new scanner will help assuage the numerous complaints that have been voiced since the original scanners were installed in March of last year.

Rather than showing the body specifics of any particular individual, this new scanner simply shows an avatar of a human. If there is any suspected weaponry or dangerous materials on the passenger, the locations of these objects are shown on the screen as small yellow boxes using an Automated Target Recognition program.

For instance, if a passenger had a suspicious object in his or her pants pocket, a yellow box would show on the screen in the same area. If anything suspicious shows up on the screen the suspected area is searched and the passenger is subject to a pat down. If there is nothing of note detected by the scanner, the screen shows “Ok” and the passenger is free to go.

The original airport scanner was introduced amid concerns by a number of individuals about the safety and privacy of travellers. Many complaints were directed at the use of an x-ray machine on such a wide number of people. Concerns were raised that the radiation produced by the x-rays could pose a number of health concerns.

However, TSA had done testing on the machines before installation and when they were first introduced the assistant administrator for security operations stated that the level of radiation emitted by these scanners “is equivalent to the amount of radiation that a passenger would receive in two minutes of flight.”

Despite assurances that the radiation levels were safe for the majority of passengers, concerns remained. The most controversial aspect to the original scanners was the fact that the image shown on the scanners revealed the nude body of the person being scanned.

The TSA tried to maintain the anonymity of the individual being scanned by having one TSA employee with the person being scanned, and another TSA employee viewing the image of the passenger. Despite the efforts by TSA to maintain an individual’s privacy to the extent that they could, many people still objected to the invasive nature of the scanners.

For individuals who are still not comfortable with the new scanners, or who are pregnant or concerned about the low levels of radiation admitted, they can still choose to have a pat down instead of going through the machine.

Now that these new scanners have a more generic picture for passengers, it helps to preserve the anonymity of the individual being scanned. It also saves costs for TSA since the image no longer needs to be screened in a separate location by a different TSA employee.

This less invasive procedure, if adopted more widely, will help to preserve the privacy of travellers, while still ensuring that their trip is safe for all involved.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/33671002@N00/

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A new TSA screening procedure, introduced late last year, has continued to outrage Americans over what some suggest is a violation of civil liberties.  Disgruntled passengers have been sharing their stories of humiliation and lawmakers are starting to hear the complaints.

The new body scanners have also been referred to as “porno scanners”, because the images displayed reveal the passenger as nude.  These body scanners have caused many people to feel concerned over privacy issues.  Transportation Security Administration states that the scanned images are blurry and black and white.  They report that the images are never saved.  However, the body scanners are able to save and send pictures. There are also health concerns.  The body scanners deliver a low level of radiation to passengers.  It is believed that they deliver 20 times more radiation than what was originally reported.  Although the chance of developing skin cancer from the body scanner is very low, it would be higher in children and people with gene mutations.  There are currently 134 body scanners at 38 airports in the United States.  This year, TSA expects to add 1,000 additional units at airports all over the country.

For those that opt out of the scanner or for health reasons cannot use the scanner, the individuals must submit to an “enhanced pat-down.”  These pat-downs seem worse than the porno scanners.  TSA agents run their hands up and down passengers’ legs and into the groin area.  Women’s breasts are pinched and groped.  Those are the techniques that TSA admits to.  Passengers claim that some TSA agents actually put their hand down individuals’ pants.  TSA claims that same-sex agents take a passenger into a private screening room for the pat-downs but many passengers say this isn’t true.

Lawmakers have been reacting to the public outrage.  In New Hampshire, a Republican state representative has introduced a bill that would make it illegal to touch or view someone’s private parts without their consent.  In California, the district attorney in San Mateo County, Steve Wagstaffe, has stated he would take any complaints about the enhanced pat-down seriously.  Wagstaffe has said that if his office receives any complaints about the screeners touching in an inappropriate way with “sexual or lewd intent,” he will prosecute.  There have been other local and state efforts that have gotten nowhere.

TSA maintains that the procedures are necessary. A statement from TSA chief John Pistole said, “All pat-downs are done professionally and are designed to detect hidden explosives that could bring down a plane. Only a small percentage of passengers end up needing them. Pat-downs have long been one of the many security measures TSA and virtually every other nation has used in its risk-based approach to help detect hidden and dangerous items.”

The body scanners are also used on children.  Last year, a 12 year old girl was leaving Tampa with a friend and her friend’s parents.  The body scanner was used on her.  The girl was traumatized when she returned to her home in Baltimore.  In England, the body scanners are not allowed to be used on passengers under the age of 18 because it violates child pornography laws.  Many sexual assault victims also have a difficult time flying any more.  They must choose between allowing a person to see them naked or be pinched, groped, or prodded.  The extra security is not working either.  Just recently, a Jet Blue passenger was allowed to go through security with three box-cutters in his carryon luggage.  That is right, box cutters—the very weapon used during the 9/11 hijacking.

TSA is violating passengers for no apparent reason.  It doesn’t make us safer.  It may provide the illusion that we are safer but in the long run, we are not.

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