By Hunter Hughes -- February 17, 2010
The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is upping their
security at airports across the country. Along with the already rigid protocol
travelers must endure before taking off on their flight, random passengers will
have their hands swabbed for traces of explosives. The micro-wave sized
detector is so effective, the alarm has sounded on those who have taken
medication recently with hints of nitroglycerin in it.
The newer, more portable machines also allow TSA agents to perform
these screenings outside of a fixed location, such as the security checkpoint.
Screenings will occur in other places such as outside of the gates and even in
checkpoint lines. The TSA now has more than 7,000 of these explosive trace
detection devices (ETD). And with the stimulus money, 400 additional units will
be purchased in the upcoming year, while 800 more will be purchased in 2011.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano does not believe the
ETD's will significantly increase waiting times at the airport. In an interview
with CNN, Napolitano said "We know that al Qaeda [and other] terrorists
continue to think of aviation as a way to attack the United States. One way we
keep it safe is by new technology [and] random use of different types of
technology."
The move by the TSA comes in the wake of the failed terrorist
bombing of Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit this past Christmas.
Originally, screeners swabbed the occasional carry-on luggage and other
objects in hopes to find some traces of the components of terrorist bombs in an
endless stream of luggage. But the palm-swabbing has been tested now at five
different airports, and the TSA believes it to be the answer to the problem
with airport security.
TSA Spokeswoman Ann Davis says there are certain materials that
can cause a false positive on the ETD's. Some examples of these are gasoline
and even hand sanitizer. But the American Civil Liberties Union is concerned a
number of factors regarding the proper usage of the ETD's. Private Attorney Jay
Stanley says that he would not want to see discrimination as to who is being
'randomly' swabbed. He also says that the agents must treat those who come up
positive with respect, since there a possibility for false positives. Lastly,
the ACLU wants to make sure that the ETD's are being used strictly for tracing
explosives, and not for other things such as drugs. But the swabbing of hands
is at no risk to civil liberties.
