GE/INVN & BARR (both old dogs) security industry update>
Midway gets extra blast of security
Air machines test passengers for trace of explosives
Published August 7, 2006
The first memorable moment of Gladys Escalante's vacation trip to Washington occurred at Midway Airport inside a phone booth-size contraption that shot 37 quick blasts of air at her body, starting at her feet and working upward.
There was no confusing the experience last week with any of the spa-type treatments that are becoming common in airport terminals to help passengers relax or pass the time while waiting for flights.
Escalante, of St. Charles, looked anything but relaxed her first time going through the new airport security-screening system designed to detect explosives on individuals.
The expanded security regimen at Midway and about 35 other U.S. airports uses the latest in chemical-analysis technology to reduce the opportunity for suicide bombers to smuggle explosives aboard planes, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration.
Security officials also say the new walk-through equipment reduces the waiting time at security checkpoints.
The devices are called explosives detection trace portals, or "puffer machines" for short. The puffers can identify explosive residue as small as one-billionth of a gram, according to the manufacturer, General Electric Ion Track.
Midway has two of the $165,000 devices. O'Hare International Airport will be getting some soon, officials said.
"Air puffers on," a computerized voice announced after Escalante entered the enclosure Wednesday at a special security checkpoint at Midway reserved mainly for "selectees"--passengers selected for more intensive screening based on their travel histories. Other passengers are also randomly selected.
The muscles in Escalante's face tightened, her clothing jiggled and jumped and her hair swirled around her head. The air jets pushed microscopic particles--called convection plumes--from her body and clothes upward into a collection plate at the top of the unit. The sample was then analyzed for the presence of any of more than a dozen chemicals used in sophisticated explosives.
Technology is put to new use
The process is similar to the wands with cotton swabs (((BARR))) that screeners use to test for explosive traces on passengers' carry-on bags. The puffer machines are the first time the technology is being used on people.
About 40 of Midway's security screeners have been trained to use the new equipment, officials said.
One of the things they tell female passengers is how to avoid the Marilyn Monroe wardrobe malfunction in the famous subway-grate scene in "The Seven Year Itch."
"We tell the ladies to keep their hands down by their sides to prevent their skirts or blouses from being lifted up by the air bursts," said Gary Schenkel, assistant federal security director at Midway.
About 20 seconds after Escalante entered, a green light appeared, the computer voice said "thank you" and a see-through door at the back of the portal automatically opened, signaling that she was explosives-free and ready to travel.
"It's different, kind of scary getting the puffs of air on you, but as long as it keeps everybody safe, that's all that's important," said Escalante, 45.
Passengers who've gone through the puffer machines say the process is preferable to having to take off shoes and enduring security screeners patting down their bodies, said David Behrens, a security agency training instructor at Midway.
The puffer machines will help reduce the need for physical searches, Behrens said, but pat-downs will still be required of passengers who set off metal-detector alarms.
"It takes a little bit longer than walking through the metal detectors, but I think the concept of detecting bombs hidden on a person is pretty neat," said Jason Smith, 36, of Chicago, who was traveling to New York.
The puffer machines are capable of detecting the smallest vapors or residues produced by explosive chemicals even if the person who handled the material has washed repeatedly to eliminate any traces, Behrens said.
The machines have been tested this year at a commuter rail station operated by the Maryland Transit Administration. The goal is to determine whether the technology can be used in the more open mass-transit environment to improve security without causing massive service disruptions.
Federal homeland security officials say the puffer machines are vital to combating increasingly creative efforts by terrorists to camouflage explosives inside belts, shoes and other clothing.
"Selectees" account for about 5 percent of all air travelers in the U.S., according to security officials. The number of selectees is larger at Midway, up to 10 percent, because of increased travel histories and patterns that match criteria prompting more intensive screening, officials said.
The traits include passengers who buy one-way tickets with cash just before flights; individuals who cannot be identified in government databases; and people who have traveled to countries known for supporting terrorist groups.
The TSA has deployed 93 puffer machines at 36 airports, at a cost of more than $30 million, officials said.
The agency plans to expand the program in phases, with the schedule depending on funding, officials said.
Unlike first-generation explosive-detection technology that registered a relatively high degree of false positives on baggage--even flagging a fruitcake in a suitcase as a potential bomb--the puffer machines are less prone to error, according to the security agency.
Still, false positives do sometimes occur, requiring a pat-down and other secondary screening methods.
"We've had cases where lotions, creams, soap suds and hair gels have alarmed," said John Eberbach, a security agency training coordinator at Midway. "A lot of the chemicals in bombs have contents that are similar to other products."
GE and Smiths Detection, the other puffer machine manufacturer, say the devices are capable of detecting illegal narcotics on individuals, including cocaine, heroin and marijuana. But the machines are configured for airport use only to identify chemicals used in bombmaking, said security agency spokeswoman Lara Uselding.
Midway passenger Ilona Sloman, 68, of Naples, Fla., deemed her first experience with the puffer machine "excellent."
The biggest benefit, she said, is being less likely to be subjected to a pat-down. But Sloman has advice to other women.
"Make sure you wear things that are not going to blow up. Uh, I mean, blow upward," she said with a laugh.
Airport gets other upgrades
Other security improvements are in the works at Midway, officials said.
Six additional screening lanes are being added at the main passenger security checkpoint over the next 60 days to reduce waiting time, said Schenkel, the airport's assistant federal security director. It will increase the number of lanes to 20 at the main checkpoint. The separate checkpoint for selectees, which is also used to screen airport and airline employees, has two lanes.
Work is also moving forward to introduce in-line baggage screening at Midway by next summer.
Completion of the in-line baggage screening system will allow security officials to remove the bulky explosive-detection machines from the airport ticket-counter area, creating more room for passengers to check in.
The mini van-size explosive-detection machines (((INVN))) will be integrated with Midway's behind-the-scenes baggage-handling conveyor system. The computerized system will move checked baggage from the ticket counter through bomb-detection machines and onto planes. Screening efficiency is expected to increase from 150 bags to as much as 500 bags hourly using the in-line system, officials said.
A similar system is operating at O'Hare's international terminal. It is being expanded to all other terminals there, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
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