Posted on 12/01/2006 6:33:03 PM PST by annie laurie
PHOENIX (AP) -- Sky Harbor International Airport here will test a controversial new federal screening system that takes X-rays of passenger's bodies in an effort to find concealed explosives and other weapons.
The technology, called backscatter, has been around for several years but has not been widely used in the U.S. as an anti-terrorism tool because of privacy concerns.
The Transportation Security Administration said it has found a way to refine the machine's images so that the normally graphic pictures can be blurred in certain areas while still being effective in detecting bombs and other threats.
The agency is expected to provide more information about the technology later this month but said one machine will be up and running at Sky Harbor's Terminal 4 by Christmas.
The security agency's Web site indicates that the technology will be used initially as a secondary screening measure, meaning that only those passengers who first fail the standard screening process will be directed to the X-ray area.
Even then, passengers will have the option of choosing the backscatter or a traditional pat-down search.
A handful of other U.S. airports will have the X-rays machines in place by early 2007 as part of a nationwide pilot program, TSA officials said.
The technology already is being used in prisons and by drug enforcement agents, and has been tested at London's Heathrow Airport.
The security agency says the machines will be effective in helping detect plastic or liquid explosives and other non-metallic weapons that can be missed by standard metal detectors.
Some say the high-resolution images - which clearly depict the outline of the passenger's body, plus anything attached to it, such as jewelry - go too far.
But the TSA said the X-rays will be set up so that the image can be viewed only by a security officer in a remote location. Other passengers, and even the agent at the checkpoint, will not have access to the picture.
In addition, the system will be configured so that the X-ray will be immediately deleted as soon as the individual steps away from the machine. It will not be stored or available for printing or transmitting, agency spokesman Nico Melendez said.
Sample photo here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/terror/images/061201xray.jpg
Hazardous duty pay required.
X-Ray this:
The TSA sure is going through a helluva lot of trouble just to get a picture of my goolies.
And of course this is getting fierce opposaition with people worried the pictures will end up on the net & used in blackmail in some cases where the person xrayed is recognized by someone- As well, not sure what the radiation amount is, but my goodness- they say you should onyl be exposed to 1 xray (at hospital- typical xray that is) per year- I'm not even sure they are sure just how much is safe- http://sacredscoop.com
I think they should start this in Portland.
The claim is that it wouldn't show that part of your body. It would be blurred out or something. It still seems creepy.
They claim the radiation dosage is very low. But, either way I keep wondering about if someone is pregnant.
Not if it is wrapped in aluminum foil.
You know, as a precaution.
I had a new one this week, was asked to step into a GE-labelled booth that blew several jets of air at me in an apparent attempt to detect explosives.
If you paid more than five bucks for that, you're going to the wrong clubs.
I think you're trying to smuggle a picture onto this forum...
Phoenix again.
I would not want to be heavy set and step in. Look at him. Heck, I don't want to step in anyway. Seems humiliating.
Talk about disrespecting the dead.
Man that is one horrible human being.
You should be taken out and shot for posting that! And I was having a pretty good night till you...
There is NOT a word in any language that can fit how fuggin wuggly she is. And she has the mental facilities of a turd to boot.
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