Full-body scanners, the open cylindrical capsules at airport checkpoints that represent the latest in security technology, will be unveiled today at the Des Moines airport.
The advanced imaging technology system comes loaded with software that displays suspicious objects on a generic outline of a human body. The extra layer of anonymity is a relatively recent addition and follows a headline-grabbing revolt in 2010 by passengers horrified by the idea of officials viewing nude representations of their bodies.
The scanners use millimeter wave technology, which bounces harmless electromagnetic waves off the body. The energy level of cellphone transmissions is thousands of times higher than that of the waves from the scanners, Transportation Security Administration officials said.
Des Moines airport officials Monday declined to answer questions about the scanners. They said questions would be answered at today’s news conference.
Some passengers at the Des Moines airport Monday said they’re willing to sacrifice some privacy for better security, but they had concerns about travel delays and the long-term health effects of the scanners. A civil liberties advocate, meanwhile, questioned the cost of the machines and their effectiveness.
The TSA touts various national polls that show a majority of Americans support the use of full-body scanners. Those who refuse the scan are subject to physical pat-downs.
A vocal minority are refusing to be searched, on the ground that it represents an illegal invasion of privacy.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was delayed on Jan. 23 — he said he was detained, while the TSA said he was not — after he tripped a full-body scanner and refused a pat-down.
Rep. Kim Pearson, R-Pleasant Hill, said she’s drafting a bill that would require probable cause for security officials to pat down passengers. Pearson said she was detained last month with her teenage daughter after they refused both the scanner and the pat-down on their way home from Seattle.
Pearson, who calls the machines “naked porno scanners,” said that the searches are so invasive they violate people’s freedom to travel, and that they raise due process issues.
“We all know people who, in my estimation, have been molested just because they wanted to visit their family,” she said.
Ben Stone, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said no one has investigated whether the price of a machine — $130,000 to $170,000 to buy and install — is justified. Questions also remain about why the scanners were selected by the federal government.
TSA officials said 570 full-body scanners have been installed at 130 airports. The agency has been authorized to buy another 300 machines this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
“The bottom line is, there’s an assumption that if something is new technology, it’s presumed to be both worth it and an improvement. It just seems like those questions have never been explored,” Stone said.
At the Des Moines airport, Jane Wigen, 44, and her husband said they flew from Montana to visit family in Iowa. While Wigen has some concerns about the health effects of the machines, she said she prefers the scanners to an invasive physical pat-down.
“For the most part, if it keeps us safe on the flight, I don’t mind,” she said.
Article source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120207/NEWS/302070087/1001/
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