Chattanooga resident April Floyd was at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to board the plane that would take her home. She’d arrived early enough to reach her gate with time to spare, but as she stepped up to the security checkpoint, a Transportation Security Administration officer asked her to go through the full body scanner instead of the metal detector. She agreed, and was soon on her way.
Later, the co-worker with whom Floyd was traveling told her the scanners reveal more than she’d realized, although not to the point of showing things most people prefer to keep private. Floyd was relieved to hear her colleagues’ last statement, as a male officer had viewed her scan. While Floyd submitted to the scanning process without objecting, tension has existed since the TSA deployed the technology in 2007 between airline passengers who insist on privacy and the government agencies responsible for safe travel. While some passengers have said the advanced imaging technology behind the full-body scans shows too much, the TSA is working to ensure security in a world in which al Queda militants are still targeting airplanes.
To address complaints, the TSA earlier this year began testing software for its scanners that displays a generic body outline instead of the actual image of the passenger and highlights any areas where it detects a possible prohibited item. According to a Reuters article titled “Airport body scanners to nix naked images,” the TSA will be deploying the software upgrades to the 40 airports that use full-body scanners over the next several months. TSA spokesperson Jonathan Allen says the new technology could put an end to passenger concerns.
“We’ve always made every effort to protect passenger privacy with the use of this technology. With the installation of the new software, we’re able to strengthen privacy protections for passengers without compromising the safety and security of the traveling public,” Allen says. Advanced imaging technology is just one tool among many the TSA uses to detect items that could pose a threat to the security of an airplane. In addition to full-body scans, officers employ a combination of metal detectors, x-ray equipment and pat-downs to ensure box cutters, firearms, and explosives never make it past security.
“We take the discovery of prohibited items seriously. In today’s post 9/11 security environment, intelligence tells us our greatest focus needs to be the biggest threat to aviation today – explosives and the components for explosives.”
Because of the danger prohibited items pose to passengers, every screening alarm must be resolved, says Allen. For example, if a passenger’s carry-on bag is selected for additional screening after being X-rayed, TSA officers may open and examine it. Security personnel use pat-downs to resolve alarms, including those triggered by metal detectors and advanced imaging technology units. Most searches turn up harmless materials. In 2006, Spring Hill, Tenn., resident Hannah Sharpe was wearing a special boot as part of a recovery program as she attempted to proceed through security at Dallas Forth Worth International Airport. When the boot set off an alarm, the officers took an x-ray, which detected a substance used in bombs. This earned Sharpe a pat-down and a brief conversation with a TSA supervisor.
“The officers were nice to me and resolved the matter quickly, so I was able to laugh about the experience once it was over,” she says. The TSA has increasingly relied on advanced imaging technology since a Nigerian man allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a transatlantic trip in December 2009. While passengers can decline the full-body scan, they will have to submit to an alternative security check procedure. “Imaging technology safely screens passengers for metallic and nonmetallic threats, including weapons, explosives, and other objects concealed under layers of clothes to help the TSA keep the traveling public safe,” says Allen. “Advanced imaging technology is optional to all passengers. However, those who opt out will receive alternative screening at the checkpoint, including a thorough pat-down,” says Allen.
Since the TSA deployed imaging technology, about 99 percent of passengers choose the full-body scanners over the alternative screening procedures, says Allen. “According to a CBS poll, four out of five Americans support the use of advanced imaging technology at airports. Additionally, many passengers with joint replacements or other medical devices that would regularly alarm a metal detector prefer this technology because it’s quicker and less invasive than a pat-down,” Allen says. Even though Floyd felt uneasy during her full-body scan, she says she’d go through it again to promote a spirit of cooperation.
“It’s unfortunate our country has had to resort to this level of security, but in light of what happened on 9/11, we should be understanding. If a full-body scanner catches a potential terrorist, then the opinions people have about them will probably change. The U.S. might be taking drastic measures, but I believe they’re necessary.”