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Company develops electronic fig leaf for virtual strip search
American Science & Engineering worked for years to develop an X-ray-type machine so good that it would act like a "virtual strip search." The company did so well the United States' Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants to use them to thwart terrorist plots.
In late April, the TSA began a pilot test of the SmartCheck Personnel Screening System at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The concern is that it works too well!
According to the TSA's website, the organization "has worked closely with the vendors to modify the image of the passenger that is taken by Backscatter (which is the technology used by the SmartCheck)."
In essence, the TSA has asked American Science & Engineering to first remove the clothes and then to apply a fig leaf. The TSA website displays images which could be described as fuzzy.
The site praises the machines for reducing the need for physical pat downs. It also emphasizes they are used only for passengers selected for a secondary screening and are a voluntary option to a physical pat down. As well, the site states the images are not stored, printed or transmitted.
The American Civil Liberties Union is concerned the searches, which it states are "akin to Superman's X-ray vision," are too intrusive. In an April 4, 2006 statement at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Timothy D. Sparapani, ACLU Legislative Counsel, stated: "Congress should prohibit X-ray backscatters use as part of a routine screening procedure. Passengers expect privacy underneath their clothing and should not be required to display highly personal details of their bodies such as evidence of mastectomies, colostomy appliances, penile implants, catheter tubes, and the size of their breasts or genitals as a prerequisite to boarding a plane. However, X-ray backscatter technology has tremendous potential to screen carry-on bags, luggage, and cargo."
In 2003, Susan Hallowell, director of the Transportation Security Administration's security laboratory, acted as guinea pig for a test of the system. She appeared to look like a normal corporate traveller, dressed in a skirt and blazer. However, the scan showed a gun, a bomb and maybe a little more.
"It does basically make you look fat and naked - but you see all this stuff," she was quoted as saying in a June 26, 2003 Associated Press article.
The backscatter earned its name because it "scatters" the X-rays. The rays deflecting off dense materials, such as plastic explosive or a metal knife, create a darker image than those bouncing off skin. The radiation dose of the machines has been compared to that of sunshine.
The machines have been used in prisons for about nine years, according to a March 3 Slate article. A 2003 AP story said South African diamond mines have also employed them to check workers when their shift is complete.
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