OHare to begin full-body scans Monday Getting Around reporter Jon Hilkevitch finds that TSA image readers

never see passengers

March 15, 2010|By Jon Hilkevitch | Getting Around

Pat-down or body scan? Travellers, it's now your call. A new security tool that scrutinizes an individual's entire body for hidden weapons and explosives will begin screening passengers Monday at O'Hare International Airport, according to federal officials. Transportation Security Administration officers can conduct a scan in as little as 5 seconds without laying a hand on passengers as they pass through airport security checkpoints on the way to board planes. Your Getting Around reporter experienced the screening process on Friday at checkpoint No. 1 in the United Airlines terminal. Although some travellers may never accept the idea of an X-ray peeking underneath their clothes in exchange for the ability to travel, my impression was that the process is free of embarrassment. After closely observing privacy protections to ensure the anonymity of the image and the person who is screened and given the alternative of being frisked by a TSA officer wearing latex gloves I'll go with the touch-less scan every time. Use of the full-body equipment is intended to address a glaring weakness in U.S. aviation security that since the 9/11 attacks has permitted two terrorist suspects the infamous shoe and underwear bombers to board airliners with explosives on their bodies. The single scanner at O'Hare begins operating two years after it was first announced for the airport and three months after a failed attempt by a man who sewed explosives into his underpants to blow up a Northwest Airlines jetliner over Detroit on Christmas Day. The scan exposes potentially deadly contraband, from metallic weapons to powder or plastic explosives, planted on individuals or inside folds of skin, although it does not reveal objects inside the body, officials said. "It's a very effective additional layer of security to get at the threat of improvised explosive devices on aircraft, one of 20 different layers that we have,'' said Lee Kair, TSA assistant administrator for security operations. After I read a sign posted at the checkpoint explaining the body scan technology and informing passengers they can opt out, I stepped up to the machine and was greeted by a TSA officer named Robert (whose last name TSA did not want used). The first thing you are told is to take everything out of your pockets, in addition to removing your shoes, belt, wristwatch and jewellery. Normally when going through security, I don't bother removing my wallet, comb, handkerchief, breath mints, airline boarding pass and other items. But it all must be placed in a bin before entering the full-body scanner.

Robert motioned for me to enter the scanning unit and to turn to my left for front and back images. You place your feet on footprint markings on the floor, resulting in a slightly spread-eagle position, and raise your arms for about five seconds. Robert then used a "whisper radio'' attached to his uniform to alert a TSA security officer located in a locked "Resolution Room'' away from the screening lane to check the image. The security officer inside the Resolution Room radioed back an all-clear, and Robert directed me to exit the scanner and pick up my carry-on items. If some type of anomaly had been found on my body during the scan, I would have been guided to a "corral'' at the security checkpoint where pat-downs and scans using hand-held metal detectors are conducted. If the pat-down was inconclusive, officials would have escorted me to a private room for a more invasive search. The image taken of me was immediately erased, officials said, adding that it is impossible to store or e-mail the image. TSA officers are also prohibited from taking cell phones or other electronic devices into the Resolution Room to ensure that the images cannot be copied. There are other privacy precautions. Neither Robert nor any of the other officers at the checkpoint viewed the image of me. The TSA officer in the Resolution Room, which is covered with frosted glass, is not permitted to leave the room for any reason until after the passengers who were scanned have left the checkpoint area. I was not permitted to see the image of me. But the TSA did allow me into the Resolution Room to observe the scanned image of a TSA volunteer undergoing a body scan. As part of the demonstration, the volunteer had an item attached to her hip underneath her clothing. The item, intended to show how hidden explosives would show up during a scan, was easily noticed, even by my untrained eye. "S.O. from I.O., I have a female. One anomaly, front hip,'' Brandi, a TSA supervisor viewing the image on the screen in the Resolution Room, radioed to the officers at the body scanner. As part of the privacy protocol, the volunteer never came in contact with Brandi or me. Critics are correct that the scanned images do display breasts, buttocks, folds of fat such as love handles and other parts of the anatomy. But a "privacy filter'' is always used to blur certain details without compromising the screening, authorities say. "The images do not look like a photograph,'' Kair said. To me, they more closely resemble the skeletal-like image produced by an X-ray, or perhaps a chalk etching. The TSA has purchased 150 body scanners using federal stimulus funds. The agency has identified 11 airports, including O'Hare, to receive the first round of scanners that use low-dose backscatter radiation to produce the images. The TSA will purchase 300 more such devices this year for other airports to be named later, officials said.

Prior to reading the article, what do you think the article is about by simply reading the title? I think the article is about the use of full body scanners for security purposes. How much did I know about the issues and topics discussed in the article? USA had many protesters about such invasion of privacy as they felt that it was beneath their dignity to undergo such procedures The scanners were put in place as an additional security measure so screen for explosive devices better.

What else would I like to find out from the article? Where the scanner is placed, which areas needed such security What the scanners scanned for besides explosives The exact procedure of the security screening and how the authorities tried to circumvent the privacy issues

After reading the article, what new pieces of information did I find out about the topic from the article? The scanners are mainly for airport security They were put in place as a response to the 9/11 attacks The procedure to protect the privacy of the people undergoing the screening

My response I believe that the US government has done well in the sense that they have responded to the September 11 attacks. However, I feel that it is slightly too late, seeing as 9 years have passed since the attacks and the scanners were fully implemented and working. Perhaps there were many privacy issues which had to be ironed out before the authorities could go ahead with the implementing of such security measures could take place. Furthermore, the article also mentions that there were two more attacks which were foiled between the September 11 attack and the full implementation of the scanners, which probably helped to show the locals there that such security measures were needful. What Else Would I like to find out about the topic/issue? Whether Singapore has any plans to utilise such scanners in Changi Airport Whether any privacy breaches have occurred since the implementation of such scanners

What relevance would this issue have on your country? Singapore has always been a country which focuses a lot on security and I believe that while as Asians we have a set of conservative values which do not render us very favourable to having our naked bodies scrutinised at, not many Singaporeans will actually complain if such security scanners were put up in our airport. This is because the procedure that takes place for the scanning to occur seems to be entirely non-invasive and that it is very transparent. However, it might affect the

tourism industry as foreigners, especially those coming to holiday from other parts of Asia, would be adverse to going through such security scanners and would probably opt for a patting-down search. Thus, in the interests of national security and at the same time to protect the tourism industry, I believe that if such scanners were to be implemented here, there should be more staff on hand as compared to that in the OHare International Airport to carry out the normal body checks as there would definitely be more who would opt for this traditional method instead. Vocabulary

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