US to use more body scanners
Source: Agencies |
January 9, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Obama administration said on Thursday it plans to make greater use of full-body scanners at airports while it works to develop better aviation security technology and pushes other countries to take similar steps.
"There's no silver bullet to securing the thousands of flights into America each day, domestic and international. It will require significant investments in many areas," President Barack Obama said in announcing a range of new steps to tighten overall aviation security in response to the failed bid to blow up a United States jetliner heading for Detroit on Christmas Day.
Security officials say current screening technology and other strategies used at airports cannot catch all threats and the administration is pledging to develop and deploy better tools, especially in the area of explosives detection.
Three major security scares for the United States since the September 11, 2001 hijack attacks -- the failed "shoe bomber" later that year, a threat authorities said was in the planning stages before being disrupted overseas in 2006 and the incident two weeks ago -- involved plots to blow up passenger planes.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a news conference after Obama's remarks the government will accelerate plans for using full body-scanners, technology that uses radio waves to project a three-dimensional body image and reveal items hidden under clothing.
Napolitano said homeland security officials will also partner with Energy Department experts to develop the next generation of technologies for aviation security. In addition, the administration is beefing up its force of undercover air marshals on commercial flights, she said.
There are 40 full-body scanners in place at US airports and the government has purchased another 150 in 2009 from L-3 Communications Holdings Inc and Rapiscan Systems Inc. Costs for each range between US$130,000 and US$170,000.
"There's no silver bullet to securing the thousands of flights into America each day, domestic and international. It will require significant investments in many areas," President Barack Obama said in announcing a range of new steps to tighten overall aviation security in response to the failed bid to blow up a United States jetliner heading for Detroit on Christmas Day.
Security officials say current screening technology and other strategies used at airports cannot catch all threats and the administration is pledging to develop and deploy better tools, especially in the area of explosives detection.
Three major security scares for the United States since the September 11, 2001 hijack attacks -- the failed "shoe bomber" later that year, a threat authorities said was in the planning stages before being disrupted overseas in 2006 and the incident two weeks ago -- involved plots to blow up passenger planes.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a news conference after Obama's remarks the government will accelerate plans for using full body-scanners, technology that uses radio waves to project a three-dimensional body image and reveal items hidden under clothing.
Napolitano said homeland security officials will also partner with Energy Department experts to develop the next generation of technologies for aviation security. In addition, the administration is beefing up its force of undercover air marshals on commercial flights, she said.
There are 40 full-body scanners in place at US airports and the government has purchased another 150 in 2009 from L-3 Communications Holdings Inc and Rapiscan Systems Inc. Costs for each range between US$130,000 and US$170,000.
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