Queen’s University terrorism expert Anthony Seaboyer says surgically implant explosives are not something of science fiction but rather a very real threat.

“The potential impact is huge. These bombs can’t be caught by a traditional body search and if the terrorists use non-metallic materials it won’t be found by a metal detector,” he said Wednesday.

However, Seaboyer, a researcher at the university’s centre for international defence policy, told Toronto Star Wednesday: “The question here is as always is what’s the threat here and what’s the risk? I think the risk is big but the threat at this point is not big.”

Seaboyer was reacting to an Associated Press report about U.S. government warning to domestic and international airlines that terrorists are considering surgically implanting explosives into humans to carry out attacks.

“I don’t know why they would want to implant them because it most cases it would be good enough to swallow the materials,” he said, noting that ingesting drugs has been going on for many years.

Seaboyer, also director for the Royal Military College of Canada Centre for Security, Armed Forces and Society, said because implanting or ingesting explosive would be far more complicated, he suggested it would not be a terrorist’s first plan of attack.

He said because U.S. authorities have raised the alarm, passengers can expect even longer lineups at U.S. airports and elsewhere.

“There may be a way to spot a bomb inside a terrorist’s body (depending on what materials the bombs are made of) because the U.S. and other countries are introducing high-tech body scans,” he said.

The Associated Press reported that while there is no intelligence pointing to a specific plot, the U.S. shared its concerns last week with executives at domestic and international carriers.

People travelling to the U.S. from overseas may experience additional screening at airports because of the threat, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

“These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport,” TSA spokesman Nick Kimball said. “Measures may include interaction with passengers, in addition to the use of other screening methods such as pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies.”

Placing explosives and explosive components inside humans to hide bombs and evade security measures is not a new idea. But there is new intelligence pointing to a fresh interest in using this tactic, a U.S. security official told the AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security information.

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When the U.S. government receives information suggesting terror tactics that could threaten commercial aviation, the TSA alerts companies domestically and abroad. Last December, the U.S. received intelligence that Al Qaeda’s Yemen branch was considering hiding explosives inside insulated beverage containers to carry them on airplanes. That warning was shared with domestic and foreign airlines so that security could be on the lookout, even though there was no specific plot.

Airport security has increased markedly since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. But terrorists remain interested in attacking aviation and continue to adapt to the new security measures by trying to develop ways to circumvent them.