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TSA Replacing Controversial X-Ray Machines at Some Airports — But It’s Not Why You Might Think

Oct. 19, 2012 5:00pm Liz Klimas

ProPublica pointed out this week that the Transportation Security Administration has been switching out some of its controversial backscatter X-ray machines, replacing them with other technology at some of the nation’s largest airports.

TSA confirmed with ProPublica that it was in fact replacing some — but not all — of the devices, which have worried some individuals and advocacy groups about health and personal privacy. The replacement security technology is millimeter wave scanners. TSA spokesman David Castelveter told ProPublica they are not being installed in response to health concerns or privacy uproar though. He said some of the busiest airports are getting them for speed.

TSA Replacing Some Backscatter X Ray Machines Will Millimeter Wave Scanners to Speed Up Security Lines

This machine is a millimeter wave scanner that is deployed in many airports in the United States and is supposedly faster at detecting threats and moving the line along. (Photo: AP/dapd/Joerg Sarbach)

Some areas that already have the new scanners installed are Boston Logan International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Chicago O’Hare, Orlando and John F. Kennedy in New York.

Castelveter said the replacements are being made “strategically” and is often done to replace older equipment that is then being relocated to smaller airports:

He said the TSA decided to move the X-ray machines to less-busy airports after conducting an analysis of processing time and staffing requirements at the airports where the scanners are installed.

The radiation risk and privacy concerns had no bearing on the decision, Castelveter said.

The new machines are expected to speed up lines by relying on a computer program, not necessarily a TSA agent, to sense threats on a person’s body. ProPublica found that this technology though could lead to false alarms:

But tests in Europe and Australia suggest the millimeter-wave machines have some drawbacks. They were found to have a high false-alarm rate, ranging from 23 percent to 54 percent when figures have been released. Even common things such as folds in clothing and sweat have triggered the alarm.

The backscatter variety have been criticized before for emitting a small amount of radiation, which can cause cancer at higher levels. The millimeter-wave scanners use low-energy radio waves.

In December 2011, ProPublica profiled both of these types of scanners and the differences between them.

A millimeter wave scanner is on the left and a backscatter X-ray is on the right. (Image: ProPublica)

This shows the difference in what the system shows between millimeter wave scanner (left) and backscatter (right). (Image: ProPublica)

ProPublica emphasized that by no means are all backscatters being replaced by these millimeter wave scanners, nor are they stopping new ones from being installed. It reports TSA saying they hope using of a variety of machines encourages competition, which could result in improved technology and lower prices.

According to ProPublica’s post last year, there were slightly more millimeter wave scanners installed at the time than backscatter. The two have similar costs as well.

(H/T: Gizmodo)

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Comments (34)

voting-for-romney
Posted on October 27, 2012 at 2:50pm
How much economic activity is now lost because people will not enter professions that require them to fly on commercial air liners? You might as well as just strip in a private room with a security guard, then expose yourself to x-rays, let alone a scanner that takes your picture as though you were naked?

It would be cheaper to just examine people naked then run these machines that would be difficult to prove their safety, if at all? Maybe if we actually did to profiling, and forced only people with beards that look and act like Muslims to get naked, maybe they will stop coming to America and leave them alone?

Don’t worry, we don’t have to worry about some guy in the Middle East, waking up every morning, turns his computer on with a desktop background picture of some naked, faceless looking American spreading for an x-ray machine, and begins his day with a chuckle? Thanks for posting those pictures in the media?

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watchdogmom
Posted on October 22, 2012 at 10:36am
this is a violation of the fourth amendment,they have done this thru the “Patriot Act” abolish all of these Unconstitutional acts. Abolish all Unconstitutional laws,regulations. Cut government back to a skeleton crew. The “Constitution” is thee “Sacred Law of the Land” and must be upheld.

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Chi-Fawn
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 2:29pm
Imagine, we all got yelled at to stay away from the TV so decades later we get to have all that radiation anyway. May moms everywhere be in the front lines of any and all protest marchs regarding how safe these machines are.

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greg4fitness
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 1:38pm
You guys are a bunch do babies just looking for something to cry about. I fly several times per month and fly through security, never any issues. The millimeter scanners are really fast. If you’ve got nothing to hide who cares? To stop flying because of TSA? Yea, I’d rather drive 16 hours than take a 2 hour flight. NOT. why aren’t you complaining about the cop cars that drive through parking lots and automatically scan hundreds of license plates per minute and automatically look you up for warrants or violations etc. oh didn’t you know about that?

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- tonypro
  Posted on October 20, 2012 at 2:23pm
  Yes Mr. gestapo we are aware of that as well.
  
  Let me guess you are writing in hitler for your vote, hoping he will give you even more control, and power over the citizens so you can feel even more important than you think you are right now.
  
  You are obviously anti Constitution since you seem to think it’s ok to remove our personal freedoms.
  
  Report this comment
- AmericanFightingMan1
  Posted on October 20, 2012 at 10:10pm
  Greg, sad to see bland unthinkers like you. Willing to do anything to serve the master. Just stand in line and be good. You are a good dumb boy Greg.
  
  This country once was populated people who understood freedom and liberty and how important it was to protect it. You don’t see the death of a thousand cuts to our liberty. Just this is no big deal. Then the next little thing is no big deal. And so on.
  
  Here’s the deal Greg; maybe if you were around in the 1770′s, you’d be a Tory or just hide. It is doubtful, given your nature as you’ve indicated here, that you’d have the inner strength to fight oppression. You’d just deal with it and adapt.
  
  Report this comment
- echinacea100
  Posted on October 21, 2012 at 1:16am
  actually yes, i drive 16 hours instead of capitulating to despotism. i also get to see the countryside of america! its a beautiful country worth defending
  
  Report this comment
- Rokytop
  Posted on October 21, 2012 at 12:11pm
  I hope you are still so understanding when the next phase of protection goes into place. Cavity searches! After watching people being stripped searched to get back on a cruise ship in Jamaica for drugs. This is the country we want to follow
  
  I am so glad you feel safe. The airplane has hundreds of parts accessible by passengers to be used as weapons. They are located in the seats, in the rest rooms, and the galley. And we all know that the maintenance workers are searched and x-rayed before they get on the plane? Give me a Break on your security crap.
  
  Report this comment
- Burby
  Posted on October 22, 2012 at 6:56am
  Maybe that is why he agrees with the scanners & Americans loosing more freedoms, he is eagarly waiting for the Cavity searches!
  It would be war if our freedoms were just taken away from us, but take them one slice at a time, & many will agree it is nothing & become use to the new water down freedom. As with any pie, there are only so many slices before it is gone!
  We need to begin taking those slices back & protect the entire pie
  
  Report this comment
watashbuddyfriend
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 11:35am
Best to profile first, then scan, no sexy fooling around. Of course, it is best to defund TSA.

Did you notice the 14,000 new jobs added in September? 10,000 of them were government, non-productive hires.

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muddy1
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 7:53am
Is that company name ProPublic, or ProPubic?

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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 3:02am
So– These are the ones that will magically malfunction 3 days before the election, allowing many bombs to make it through. Seriously- Do not fly the week before the election. Have we lost our minds? This is the perfect setup for the desperadoes called ‘progressives’ The word from the media will be ‘BUSH DID IT” The last 4 years says this is obvious. The lesser scenario would be that some obama miraculous oversight thingy snags the terrorists and makes obama a hero. Are we really going to be this stupid?

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tonypro
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 2:19am
“”This machine is a millimeter wave scanner that is deployed in many airports in the United States and is supposedly faster at detecting threats and moving the line along.”"

REALLY !!!

Hey I’ve got a grand idea to speed things up at the airport……………

GET RID OF THE FREAKIN GESTAPO TSA. WOW what a conceppt.

Now I feel better. :-}

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jaylew
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 12:33am
Corbecket is correct…..if everyone opted out of the machine based assessments and opted for the physical searches……and yes it will mean that many people will miss their flights which is why you make your travel pans assuming you will miss the first flight….but if that was done for one single day…the entire flight business would be brought to its knees. Empty planes or planes filled with passengers who missed their real flight hours earlier…all it would take is a week of this and the entire TSA and airline business would be overwhelmed and crushed….but we have too many wooses in this country who cant miss their first scheduled flight to Cancun or Vegas that would ever allow a valid protest mechanism like this to interrupt their own personal fun and pleasure.

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Vietnam Vet
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 9:40pm
And after all of this time and expense gone down the drain, exactly how many “terrorists” have they caught?

Cero – Zero!

Our tax dollars at work.

I quit flying for awhile, then decided, “Who the he1l do they think they are?”

I now carry a pocket copy of the entire Constitution with me when I travel. I also carry a copy of my states laws re: “Criminal touching”, with the penalties highlighted. The TSA jerks at my home airport just do the old style frisk and wand (I have a Cardiac Defibrillator implanted in my chest).

I also carry a full page copy of the 4th Amendment in my briefcase, as well as a copy of the laws on “Criminal Touching” or “Unwanted Sexual Touching” of the state to which I am going.

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- ObamaForward_OverTheCliff
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 10:53pm
  Vietnam Vet – “I quit flying for awhile, then decided, “Who the he1l do they think they are?” ”
  
  Interesting. How do they take it? (PS … give’em hell!)
  
  Report this comment
- Bohump
  Posted on October 20, 2012 at 7:24am
  To: Viet-nam vet .. from another Viet -nam Vet. .. well said ! ,, I thought they would have cough at least One of those Grandmothers with a Bomb by Now .
  
  Report this comment
kvan
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:01pm
I think that we should have the Government create a Driving Safety Administration (DSA) to assure Americans safety when driving everyday since you are almost 2 times as likely to have a fatal accident while driving than while flying.
We could have a DSA agent on every road in America, say every few miles. The agents would then stop every vehicle and do an inspection of every vehicle to assure that it’s safe to be on the road and don’t forget that every driver should be check also to assure that they are competent to be behind the wheel. Once every year or 2 isn’t really enough to assure that all drivers are competent to drive.

Almost forgot, DSA should also check every passenger to assure that they won’t distract or bother the driver too!

This would be a wonderful New Government Agency and imagine how much safer everyone would be, gosh I really can’t wait until some genius in DC proposes such legislation. I’m also pretty sure that Most Americans would be 100% for the new DSA!

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- The-Monk
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:50pm
  @kvan
  
  The TSA already has that. It’s called VIPER.
  
  Headed to a highway near you…..
  
  Look it up. : (
  
  Report this comment
kvan
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:24pm
Read this:
Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Where does it say that TSA or Homeland security has the Right to do what they are doing.
Please some organization of attorneys must bring suit and bring this to the Supreme Court.

This is Still America!!

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- jcldwl
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:48pm
  exactly why I no longer fly.
  
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- ObamaForward_OverTheCliff
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:59pm
  “Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
  
  It’s simple … no WARRANT, no SEARCH, no CO-OPERATION.
  They do anything else (deny you access, call Police, yadda yadda), and it’s LEGAL CHARGES & CONSTITUTIONAL LAWSUIT to ALL PARTIES INVOLVED.
  
  Report this comment
- z00mer11
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 10:46pm
  Please read the small print when you buy your ticket. Consent is given for the TSA to do their thing when you purchase the ticket. This bring a whole new meaning to ‘Fly the friendly skies’…
  
  Report this comment
mdman
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:13pm
The only thing with these machines is that you can have a gun on your side, or any other metal object and the machine wont see it as long as its on your side..

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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:13pm
Does George Soros own the Company that sells these as well?

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Fatheroftwo
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:09pm
Ok folks, I don’t care what they say, millimeter waves are NO better for you than x-rays!!!! Everyone knows what a microwave does to your food right!! well milliwaves will do the same thing!! The reason microwaves are used in the box in your house instead of milliwaves is they are easier to keep INSIDE the box so people and things outside the box are not exposed!! So now we have the TSA using milliwaves on people to see what’s inside your cloths!! Talk about a warm and fuzzy, literally!!

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:47pm
When are we finally just going to disband the ever loving TSA already?

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- PoliticallyRightUs.Com
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:16pm
  Soon as the tea Party takes back america
  
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:42pm
How does a, ahem.. Weight-challenged person get through one of those? I’m not weight-challenged, maybe by 10 pounds, but just an observation.

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- Hodmokrin
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:34pm
  For overweight people, they do a pat down, and a mandatory “truffle shuffle”.
  
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JeffJ1985
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:22pm
I don’t care if they use this kind of equipment. Judging from the screenshot it looks good to me. I’m just against machines that are capable of creating photographic images.

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- Gary_K
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:28pm
  Those are not the real images…the real ones would shock you.
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:36pm
  Like cattle we are herded.. hope there is a special place in hell for the terrorists complete with X-ray machines which search vainly for their souls…
  
  Report this comment
- corbecket
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 8:50pm
  The only choices you have are, not going, rail, driving, or riding a horse. However, as one who cannot go through a number of electronic searches (too many of my own electronic devices buried within me), it is fascinating to find out what happens when you opt out of their electronic systems, and opt in to the pat down. If everyone opted for the pat down, you’d bring their system to its knees.
  
  I highly recommend that everyone do it.
  
  Report this comment

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