SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2010
KLMNO
EZ RE POLITICS & THE NATION AGONYATTHEAIRPORT More body scanners are coming to an airport near you
Despite concerns about effectiveness, TSA to keep installing devices
BY DEREK KRAVITZ The full-body scanners in use
at 78 U.S. airports can detect small amounts of contraband and hidden weapons, all while producing controversial images of travelers. The “good catches,” federal
officials say, have largely gone unnoticed amid the criticism that erupted over the ghostly X-rays and “enhanced” pat- downs. The Transportation Secu- rity Administration, which in- tensified airport screening last month, points to several success- es: small amounts of marijuana wrapped in baggies, other drugs stitched inside underwear, ce- ramic knives concealed in shirt pockets. But the machines could miss
something far more deadly: ex- plosive material taped to some- one’s abdomen or hidden inside a cavity. Researchers and security experts question the technolo- gy’s ability to detect chemical explosives that are odorless, far smaller than previous incarna- tions, and easily molded to fool machines and security screeners into thinking they are part of the human body. Government testing, which
has been mostly classified be- cause of security concerns, has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the full-body scanners. Based partly on early success-
es, federal officials are planning to continue an unprecedented roll-out of the technology over the next year. By New Year’s Day, about 500 machines will be in use across the country, including at the Washington area’s three major airports. By the end of next year, 1,000 X-ray machines will be operational, accounting for roughly half of the nation’s 2,000 lanes of security check- points. Following the United States’
lead, several nations have begun to test or install full-body scan- ners, including Australia, Cana- da, France,Germany, Japan,Rus- sia and theUnitedKingdom.U.S. officials have also considered whether the machines could be used to enhance security at pas- senger rail stations. Federal officials say the scan-
ners represent the best technolo- gy that has passed both lab and field tests. But aswith reading an X-ray, training is themost impor- tant factor in making sure that TSA officers can spot potentially dangerous items on passengers. “The bottomline is thatwe are
nowable to detect all types of the most dangerousweapons—non- metallic explosive devices,” TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball said. “Even in small amounts, it can be picked up.”
Window dressing? Two types of scanning ma-
chines — backscatter and milli- meter wave — have been in- stalled at airports since 2007, when theywere launched as part of a pilot programat Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Bothmachines produce the same full-body images that attracted controversy; they work by bouncing X-rays or radio waves off skin or concealed objects. They have been installed at a
quicker rate since a failed Christ- mas Day terrorist attempt last year in which Umar Farouk Ab- dulmutallab hid explosives in his underwear on a flight from Am- sterdam to Detroit. The failed attack also prompted federal offi- cials to use the scanners as a primary security technique at airports instead of a secondary, less frequent checkpoint feature. Still,many security experts say
the machines are expensive win- dow dressing meant to put the traveling public at ease. A recent paper published in
the Journal of Transportation Security by two former Universi- ty of California-San Francisco physicists said that images pro- duced by the backscatter scan- ners would probably fail to show a large pancake-shaped object taped to the abdomen because it would be “easily confused with normal anatomy.” As a result, a third of a kilo of PETN, a type of malleable explosive, which could be discovered by a pat-down, would be missed, the scientists said. “It’s not an explosives detec-
tor; it’s an anomaly detector,” said Clark Ervin, who runs the Homeland Security Program at the nonprofit Aspen Institute.
Actual millimeter-wave scan of a man
Picture or pat-down? High-tech scanners that detect objects beneath clothing are an alternative to being patted down by TSA screeners. Here are the two types of full-body imaging technology in use:
Millimeter wave 239 are in use at 40 U.S. airports, including Reagan and BWI*
What you do: Passengers step into a circular transparent booth. Panels that look like revolving doors move across the front and back sides.
How it works: Te scanner emits radio waves small enough to pass through clothing but bounce off skin. Anything that is not human skin will appear as a contrast- ing object.
Manufacturer: L-3 Communications BASIC PROCESS
1 2 3
Passengers remove shoes and empty pockets. Tey step into the machine and raise their arms.
Once scanned, they step out and wait with the checkpoint TSA officer while the scan is reviewed by another officer elsewhere. Te officers are connected by wireless headsets.
Backscatter 247 are in use at 38 U.S. airports, including Dulles*
What you do: Passengers stand between two scanners. No parts move.
How it works: Low-level X-rays are shot from each scanner. Materials either absorb or reflect the rays, so objects are obvious against skin.
Manufacturer: Rapiscan Systems * as of Nov. 19
About this series The United States created the Transportation Security Administration in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, to improve security for all travelers. Billions of dollars later, the changes are most apparent at airports. Passengers walk a gantlet of surveillance: They surrender sharp objects and slip off their shoes. They submit to revealing body scans or intrusive pat-downs. Canine units sniff for explosives, and plainclothes officers watch the unaware. This occasional series from TheWashington Post examines the new world of travel security. Despite the changes, transportation experts, government auditors and lawmakers question the effectiveness of some specific methods and say vulnerabilities in the system still put travelers at risk.
and design division, the Science and Technology Directorate, is testing a software patch being developed by the two companies behind the scanning technology — Rapiscan Systems and L-3 Communications — that would produce only a generic outline of a human body accompanied by a box or colored squares indicating a hidden anomaly or specific substance. An alarm might also
l What do pat-downs mean for kids? C1
be used to alert screeners to potential threats. But TSAAdministrator John S.
Pistole said that the software, called automated target recogni- tion, is not scoring well in lab tests, producing too many false- positive errors. “It is a relatively complex
math problem, but we’re confi- dent we’re going to solve it and solve it soon,” said Peter Kant, executive vice president of Rap- iscan Systems. “But these things take time.” Meanwhile, federal research-
ers are testing systems that would scan passengers’ shoes without having to take them off; a new generation of carry-on baggage equipment, such as con- veyor systems; and smaller and faster baggage scanning ma- chines, which could check 1,500 bags per hour, up from an aver- age of 300 to 400 per hour. Technology developed at the De- partment of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory could iden- tify liquids through opaque con- tainers, such as a soda can or juice pouch.
kravitzd@washpost.com
A3
If no anomalies are found . . .
Te officer viewing the scan tells the checkpoint agent that all is well.
4 5
Passengers leave the
checkpoint, and the image is erased automatically.
If something suspicious appears . . .
4
Te officer viewing the scan tells the checkpoint
agent where the problem is. 5
6
Te passenger may be rescanned.
PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS
» Images are viewed by a TSA officer in a locked booth away from the checkpoint so that the agent at the checkpoint never sees the image and the agent who sees the image never sees the passenger.
» Soſtware obscures faces in the millimeter-wave image and reduces the backscatter image to a kind of chalky-looking sketch.
» Te TSA and manufacturers say images cannot be saved, printed, transmitted or uploaded. Once passengers are cleared, their images are erased.
SOURCES: Transportation Security Administration, Rapiscan Systems, Smiths Detection
Airports with backscatter X-raymachines* Boston Logan International (BOS) Boise Airport (BOI) Bradley International (BDL) Brownsville-South Padre Island International (BRO) Buffalo Niagara International (BUF) Charlotte Douglas International (CLT) Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International (CVG) Corpus Christi Airport (CRP) Dulles International (IAD) El Paso International (ELP) Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) Gulfport-Biloxi International (GPT) Grand Rapids Airport (GRR) Harlingen-Valley International (HRL) John F. Kennedy International (JFK) Kansas City International (MCI) LaGuardia International (LGA) Lambert-St. Louis International (STL) Laredo International (LRD)
Airports withmillimeter-wave scanners* Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) Baltimore-Washington International Marshall (BWI) Houston-Bush Intercontinental (IAH) Cleveland International (CLE) Denver International (DEN) Dallas-FortWorth International (DFW) Detroit Metro (DTW) FortWayne International (FWA) Fresno (FAT) Harrisburg International (MDT) Honolulu International (HNL) Indianapolis International (IND) Jacksonville International (JAX) Las Vegas-McCarran International (LAS)
“Someone has to notice that there’s something out of order.” Ervin was the first inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security. PETN, or pentaerythritol tet-
ranitrate, is hard to detect.Odor- less and similar to awhite crystal powder, it was used in both package bombs shipped to the United States in October and the Christmas airliner attempt last year. Those who plotted the car- go attack hid the explosive in toner cartridges and “clearly” tried to trick baggage screening technologies, according to the Department of Homeland Secu- rity. Brian Michael Jenkins, direc-
tor of the Transportation Securi- tyCenter at theMinetaTranspor- tation Institute in San Jose, Ca- lif., said he was unsure whether
BONNIE BERKOWITZ AND LAURA STANTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Lihue (LIH) (Kauai) Los Angeles International (LAX) San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU) McAllen Miller International (MFE) Memphis International (MEM) Mineta San Jose International (SJC) Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) Oakland International (OAK) Omaha Eppley Airfield (OMA) Orlando International (MCO) Phoenix International (PHX) Pittsburgh International (PIT) Port Columbus International (CMH) Saipan International (SPN) San Antonio International (SAT) San Diego International (SAN) Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) Spokane International (GEG) T.F. Green (PVD)
Miami International (MIA) Milwaukee-General Mitchell International (MKE) Nashville International (BNA) Newark Liberty International (EWR) New Orleans-Louis Armstrong International (MSY) Palm Beach International (PBI) Philadelphia International (PHL) Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) Richmond International (RIC) Rochester International (ROC) Reagan National (DCA) San Francisco International (SFO) Salt Lake City International (SLC) Tampa International (TPA) Tulsa International (TUL) (*partial list)
kravitzd@washpost.com
an advanced scannerwould have discovered the explosives in Ab- dulmutallab’s underwear. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has said it “remains un- clear” whether he would have been caught by a full-body scan- ner. But a random assortment of security measures — and not the reliance on one technology or method—is key, Jenkins said. “It’s the mystery that drives
our adversaries crazy,” he said. “We need the unknown.”
Drawbacks, advances The Transportation Security
Laboratory, a federal Homeland Security testing site created in 1992 atNewJersey’sAtlanticCity International Airport, began testing on full-body scanners in 2007. The detailed results of the testing performed in Atlantic
6
on
washingtonpost.com Agony at the Airport
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City are classified because of security concerns, but interviews with more than a dozen former and current government officials and the limited release of its findings found: • The detection of weapons
and contraband varied by who was evaluating the images, indi- cating that some transportation security officers were less adept at spotting unusual or dangerous items. •The “backscatter” rays can be
obscured by body parts and might not readily detect thin items seen “edge-on.” • Objects hidden inside the
body, in cavities,might bemissed by both types of the scanning machines altogether. “If you have someone who is
rather fat or who has large breasts or buttocks, that’s a fac- tor, too,” said Anthony Fainberg, a physicist and former program manager for explosives and radi- ation detection at Homeland Se- curity. Fainberg has lobbied for hand-
held swabbing of hands and luggage for trace detection of explosives, especially on interna- tional flights. “If you have something hidden
behind flaps of flesh, it can be missed,” he said. “I’mnotworried about the safety of it at all, but I am concerned about what could bemissed.” Frank Cilluffo, director of the
Homeland Security Policy Insti- tute at George Washington Uni- versity, said that the technology expands the TSA’s security tool- box. “It is not going to solve the
problem, but it certainly comes a long way from where we were before,” Cilluffo said.
‘These things take time’ To address the litany of securi-
ty and privacy concerns over the full-body scanners, federal offi- cials are testing several new technologies that will probably make their way into airports in the comingmonths. Homeland Security’s research
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