TSA replaces X-ray scanners at some major airports

USATODAY

The Transportation Security Administration has swapped out controversial X-ray body scanners with supposedly safer machines at several major airports, ProPublica is reporting.

The TSA told the investigative news site that the switch from so-called backscatter to millimeter-wave scanners was to speed passengers through checkpoints at busy airports and not because of potential health concerns from low-level radiation. TSA says both types meet federal health and safety standards.

The new scanners, which rely on low-energy, cellphone-like radio waves, have been installed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Orlando, TSA confirmed. The machines are also being used in San Francisco, passengers report..

X-ray machines have generated criticism because of radiation exposure and privacy concerns resulting from the "naked" outline of a person's body that TSA screeners see. The millimeter-wave scanners use a computer program to detect potential threats and display "a generic cartoon image" of a traveler's body, ProPublica writes.

After complaints that the machines were a little too revealing, new software was installed in February 2011 that eliminated "passenger-specific images."

Backscatter scanners remain in use at some of the 25 largest U.S. airports, but the TSA won't say which ones.

The TSA says "approximately 700 imaging technology units" — backscatter or millimeter wave — are installed at more than 180 airports.

Last year the European Union banned the X-ray machines to avoid "jeopardizing citizens' health and safety."

ProPublica also offers a comparison of the two technologies.

Passengers can opt for "alternative screening procedures" — the human pat-down. TSA says, however, that "more than 99% of passengers choose to be screened" by the machines.

In July 2010, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sued to stop body scanning, arguing that "the TSA has acted outside of its regulatory authority and with profound disregard for the statutory and constitutional rights of air travelers." A year later, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Department of Homeland Security, TSA's parent, "had violated the Administrative Procedures Act by implementing body scanners as a primary screening method without first undertaking public notice and comment rulemaking," EPIC says.

The court ordered the agency to "promptly" undertake the proper rulemaking procedures and allow the public to comment on the body scanner program. Last month, the court said it expected that to happen by the end of next March.