I'm opposed to the use of these body scanners. 
What say you?
sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-body-scanners-20100526,0,6050057.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Fort Lauderdale airport starts using body-scanning machines
By Ken Kaye, Sun Sentinel
8:42 PM EDT, May 26, 2010
FORT LAUDERDALE
By using low-level radiation, the new body-scanner machines that went online at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday essentially capture travelers in the buff.
But the pictures aren't exactly Playboy centerfold quality.
Rather, they're blurred, much like a chalk etching. While Transportation Security Administration officers will be able to tell whether a person is flabby or in shape, they won't be able to see faces or private parts with any detail.
But they will be able to immediately see whether someone is trying to hide a weapon or an explosive substance under his or her clothing and that's the whole point, said Tim Lewis, TSA federal security director at the Fort Lauderdale airport.
"You, me, your family and your friends will be much safer now," he said. "Having 99.999 percent security effectiveness is not good enough. We have to do better than that."
As of Wednesday, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International became the 27th airport in the nation and the fourth in the state to start using the advanced-imaging machines, which cost up to $170,000 each.
Two Rapiscan Secure 1000 machines were installed at Concourse E in Terminal 3. Several more will be placed "strategically" around the airport over the next month, TSA officials said.
In all, the TSA has purchased 490 body scanners and plans to put them in airports around the nation this year. The machines already are used at Miami International Airport and eventually may be installed at Palm Beach International Airport.
Because each passenger spends about 10 seconds in the machine, the scanners do not slow the security process, an important factor as the bustling summer travel season approaches, Lewis said.
Here's what passengers can expect as they go through a scanner at the Fort Lauderdale airport:
Each machine is comprised of two big blue boxes each similar in size and shape to a coin-operated photo booth side by side.
Before stepping into the machine, passengers are asked to take off shoes, jewelry, belts and jackets. They are asked not to carry wallets or any other objects, as the machines detect both metallic and non-metallic substances.
Officials suggest all these items be placed inside carry-on bags, which are run through an X-ray machine and examined separately.
"Divest everything off your body," said John Lenihan, TSA acting deputy assistant administrator for security operations. "That's an important new change for passengers."
Passengers will be asked to stand between the two boxes, facing one of them. They will be instructed to raise their arms. A five-second shot of low-level radiation will capture an image of the passenger and send it to an officer monitoring a screen in a separate room.
Lewis noted the radiation is extremely minimal.
"It's absolutely safe for everyone, and that includes my pregnant daughter and my grandchildren," he said.
To emphasize the point, he said it would take 5,000 trips through the machine to amass the same amount of radiation as in a single chest X-ray.
If a suspicious item is spotted, the passenger will get a secondary screening, including possibly a pat-down.
The scanners are used for primary screening. If passengers are uncomfortable going through a machine, they have the option of declining. However, in that case they must walk through a metal detector and endure a secondary screening, said TSA spokesman James Fotenos.
"Passengers always have the option of opting out," he said.
Several steps have been taken to protect passenger privacy, Lewis said. The transportation security officers viewing the images sit in a room with opaque windows several yards away from the machines, so they never see the actual passenger. Faces on the images are obscured. And as soon as officers determine a passenger is safe, the images are deleted.
"There is zero ability to save the images on the machines," he said.
Lewis said he is well aware of an incident at Miami International Airport earlier this month, when during a test, a security officer made fun of the size of another officer's genitals after viewing images in a scanner. The offended officer attacked his co-worker with a baton in a parking lot and was charged with aggravated battery.
Any similar lack of "professionalism" in Fort Lauderdale would lead to swift and severe punishment, Lewis said.
Surveys show that most passengers have no objection to the machines. John Pietro of Pompano Beach, a frequent flier and salesman, is one of them.
"If it stops one bad guy, it's a good thing," he said.
His wife, Denise, however, approached the machine apprehensively before flying to Pittsburgh on Wednesday. She didn't like the thought of screeners peeking under her clothing.
"I'll do it," she said. "I don't have anything to hide. But I don't like it."
Tim LeBon, of Baltimore, a CEO for a disaster restoration firm, said he's concerned the images will somehow end up on the Internet, despite TSA's assurances they will be destroyed.
"You can delete an e-mail, but it's always there," he said, prior to a Maryland flight Wednesday.
Tamara Bell, who flew into Fort Lauderdale from Charlotte Wednesday, said she would refuse to go through the body scanner for privacy reasons.
"I think it's going too far," said Bell. "What's next? Are they going to put a chip in you to see if you've done anything illegal?"
Ken Kaye can be reached at kkaye@SunSentinel.com or 954-572-2085.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
What say you?sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-body-scanners-20100526,0,6050057.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Fort Lauderdale airport starts using body-scanning machines
By Ken Kaye, Sun Sentinel
8:42 PM EDT, May 26, 2010
FORT LAUDERDALE
By using low-level radiation, the new body-scanner machines that went online at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday essentially capture travelers in the buff.
But the pictures aren't exactly Playboy centerfold quality.
Rather, they're blurred, much like a chalk etching. While Transportation Security Administration officers will be able to tell whether a person is flabby or in shape, they won't be able to see faces or private parts with any detail.
But they will be able to immediately see whether someone is trying to hide a weapon or an explosive substance under his or her clothing and that's the whole point, said Tim Lewis, TSA federal security director at the Fort Lauderdale airport.
"You, me, your family and your friends will be much safer now," he said. "Having 99.999 percent security effectiveness is not good enough. We have to do better than that."
As of Wednesday, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International became the 27th airport in the nation and the fourth in the state to start using the advanced-imaging machines, which cost up to $170,000 each.
Two Rapiscan Secure 1000 machines were installed at Concourse E in Terminal 3. Several more will be placed "strategically" around the airport over the next month, TSA officials said.
In all, the TSA has purchased 490 body scanners and plans to put them in airports around the nation this year. The machines already are used at Miami International Airport and eventually may be installed at Palm Beach International Airport.
Because each passenger spends about 10 seconds in the machine, the scanners do not slow the security process, an important factor as the bustling summer travel season approaches, Lewis said.
Here's what passengers can expect as they go through a scanner at the Fort Lauderdale airport:
Each machine is comprised of two big blue boxes each similar in size and shape to a coin-operated photo booth side by side.
Before stepping into the machine, passengers are asked to take off shoes, jewelry, belts and jackets. They are asked not to carry wallets or any other objects, as the machines detect both metallic and non-metallic substances.
Officials suggest all these items be placed inside carry-on bags, which are run through an X-ray machine and examined separately.
"Divest everything off your body," said John Lenihan, TSA acting deputy assistant administrator for security operations. "That's an important new change for passengers."
Passengers will be asked to stand between the two boxes, facing one of them. They will be instructed to raise their arms. A five-second shot of low-level radiation will capture an image of the passenger and send it to an officer monitoring a screen in a separate room.
Lewis noted the radiation is extremely minimal.
"It's absolutely safe for everyone, and that includes my pregnant daughter and my grandchildren," he said.
To emphasize the point, he said it would take 5,000 trips through the machine to amass the same amount of radiation as in a single chest X-ray.
If a suspicious item is spotted, the passenger will get a secondary screening, including possibly a pat-down.
The scanners are used for primary screening. If passengers are uncomfortable going through a machine, they have the option of declining. However, in that case they must walk through a metal detector and endure a secondary screening, said TSA spokesman James Fotenos.
"Passengers always have the option of opting out," he said.
Several steps have been taken to protect passenger privacy, Lewis said. The transportation security officers viewing the images sit in a room with opaque windows several yards away from the machines, so they never see the actual passenger. Faces on the images are obscured. And as soon as officers determine a passenger is safe, the images are deleted.
"There is zero ability to save the images on the machines," he said.
Lewis said he is well aware of an incident at Miami International Airport earlier this month, when during a test, a security officer made fun of the size of another officer's genitals after viewing images in a scanner. The offended officer attacked his co-worker with a baton in a parking lot and was charged with aggravated battery.
Any similar lack of "professionalism" in Fort Lauderdale would lead to swift and severe punishment, Lewis said.
Surveys show that most passengers have no objection to the machines. John Pietro of Pompano Beach, a frequent flier and salesman, is one of them.
"If it stops one bad guy, it's a good thing," he said.
His wife, Denise, however, approached the machine apprehensively before flying to Pittsburgh on Wednesday. She didn't like the thought of screeners peeking under her clothing.
"I'll do it," she said. "I don't have anything to hide. But I don't like it."
Tim LeBon, of Baltimore, a CEO for a disaster restoration firm, said he's concerned the images will somehow end up on the Internet, despite TSA's assurances they will be destroyed.
"You can delete an e-mail, but it's always there," he said, prior to a Maryland flight Wednesday.
Tamara Bell, who flew into Fort Lauderdale from Charlotte Wednesday, said she would refuse to go through the body scanner for privacy reasons.
"I think it's going too far," said Bell. "What's next? Are they going to put a chip in you to see if you've done anything illegal?"
Ken Kaye can be reached at kkaye@SunSentinel.com or 954-572-2085.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
I just want to get a good seat for when this takes off.
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