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Body Scan Imaging Is Delayed

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By TED JACKOVICS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2008

TAMPA - The installation of new high-tech security devices, which can provide images of passengers beneath their clothing, has been delayed at Tampa International Airport, a federal official said Thursday.

No specific date has been set for the launch of the machines at TIA, said Gary Milano, the Transportation Security Administration's federal security director for three Tampa Bay area commercial airports.

But the controversial devices are expected to be installed within the next two months at the airsides, the outlying terminals where TSA conducts passenger security screenings, he said.

"It is possible the machines will be up and running before Thanksgiving," said Sari Koshetz, a TSA spokeswoman in Miami.

Before the installation work can be completed, floors at an airside where the devices will be used must be leveled and steps and handrails must be installed, Koshetz said.
New imaging technologies help TSA officers to detect prohibited items such as weapons, explosives and other metallic and nonmetallic objects concealed under layers of clothing without making physical contact with a passenger.

The "millimeter wave" technology passes electromagnetic waves over the human body to create an image that looks much like a fuzzy photo negative, Koshetz said. The technology's energy is 10,000 times less than a cell phone and does not pose a health threat, the TSA said.

But the "millimeter wave" devices have raised concerns from passenger-rights advocates, who contend security screeners can see through passengers' clothing and thus invade privacy.

The American Civil Liberties Union has questioned the technology, saying it produces "strikingly graphic images of passengers" bodies. The ACLU contends that people who consent to the scan don't understand how invasive the technology can be.

TSA officials note that travelers who are selected for the scan by the TSA have the option of a full body pat-down instead.

"There will be opportunity for continued public dialogue as we evaluate how the technology works in the airport setting," Koshetz said. "This technology holds promise to limit the use of physical pat-downs in the future."

More than 90 percent of passengers at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, where the equipment was first tested in October 2007, opted for millimeter wave over the traditional pat-down procedure, Koshetz said.

"Passenger privacy is ensured through the anonymity of the image," Koshetz said. "The officer attending the passenger will not view the image, and as an additional precaution, the officer viewing the image will be remotely located in a windowless booth from which they cannot see the actual passenger."

Furthermore, air travelers' faces will be blurred and images will not be stored, transmitted or printed. Images will be deleted immediately after viewing, Koshetz said.

Tampa International is among two dozen airports where the new device is scheduled to be installed this year: Baltimore-Washington, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver, Dallas/Fort-Worth, Detroit, Miami, Ronald Reagan Washington National, New York John F. Kennedy, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Boston, Indianapolis, New York LaGuardia, San Juan, San Francisco, Buffalo, Chicago O'Hare, Richmond, Tulsa, Jacksonville and Raleigh-Durham.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.

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