The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) installed a "backscatter imaging" X-ray machine the size of a huge armoire at a security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona.
The first volunteer for scanning was a Vietnam War veteran traveling with
his wife for a 40th wedding anniversary trip.
"He didn't have any problem with it whatsoever," said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Nico Melendez.
During the imaging process, light gray silhouettes produced by scans appear on computer screens in a secure room a short distance away, according to Melendez. Male TSA agents check scans of male passengers and female agents review images of women.
"We are absolutely not able to see you naked," Melendez said. "It is more of a chalk outline. ... The amount of radiation with this technology is designed to look through the clothing and bounce off the skin."
Those being scanned had the option of using a rectangular piece of lead to block imaging of their crotch.
"It is designed to look for anything someone might be hiding on their person," Melendez said. "It is completely voluntary, and we are able to see what we need to see."
If TSA agents notice anything hidden in clothing, they signal counterparts to "pat down" the passenger.
The dose of radiation from the low-level X-ray was said to equal the amount airplane passengers are exposed to during two minutes of flight at cruising altitude.
The system is not designed to store or transmit images, which are deleted after being viewed, Melendez said.
The three-month test of the scanners is the first at a US airport, and if it shows promise, it will be replicated at airports in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, according to the TSA.
Privacy advocates have complained that peering under passengers' clothing is invasive, but no formal opposition to the pilot program has been lodged.
original source
