Despite concerns over the cost and benefits, privacy, reliability and safety of airport body scanners, the United States federal government plans to deploy 500 advanced imaging technology units this year, roll out 500 more in 2011 and operate a total of 1,800 units by 2014, according to testimony last week at a House Transportation Security and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing.
The plan represents a "more than two-fold increase from the initial planned buy of 878 units," noted the Government Accountability Office's Steve Lord, director for Homeland Security and Justice issues. "Second, the Transportation Security Administration now plans to use this technology as a primary rather than secondary screening measure."
TSA last week deployed two of its new backscatter X-ray AIT units at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Boston's Logan International and in 2009 "deployed 40 of the millimeter-wave AIT's [at 19 airports nationwide] and procured 150 backscatter X-ray units," according a Lord's statement published by the GAO.
Lord said it "remains unclear whether the AIT would have been able to detect the weapon" used in the "attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253" on Dec. 25. GAO is "currently reviewing TSA testing results to first assess the AIT's detection capabilities, and second, to verify that TSA successfully completed operational testing of this technology," Lord said. While TSA completed a "lifecycle cost estimate and a so-called alternatives analysis for the AIT, it has not conducted a full cost benefit study as called for in" an October 2009 GAO report, Lord said.
Such an analysis is important "as it would help inform TSA's judgment about the optimal deployment strategy for the AITs, as well as provide information to inform the best path forward, considering all elements of the screening system, for addressing the vulnerability identified by this attempted terrorist attack," he added.
AIT "is the most promising current technology for detecting small quantities of explosives concealed on passengers," TSA operational process and technology assistant administrator Robin Kane told the subcommittee. TSA officials told GAO that they expect AIT to provide "enhanced security benefits compared to walk-through metal detectors" and efficiencies "to more rigorously screen a greater number of passengers in a shorter amount of time while providing a detection capability equivalent to a pat down. AIT requires about 20 seconds to produce and interpret a passengers' image, compared with 2 minutes for a physical pat down," stated the GAO report.
In response to the failed bombing attempt, the administration decided to "accelerate deployment of advanced imaging technology to provide greater explosives detection capabilities and encourage foreign aviation security authorities to do the same," Kane said. It also established partnerships to develop next-generation screening devices with the Department of Energy and its national laboratories as well as with international bodies, Kane said.
TSA "has already made great strides" in accelerating AIT deployments, according to Kane. The agency used $300 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to buy 150 AIT units for primary screening at airports in 2009. TSA's 2010 budget includes funding for 300 more units and the 2011 budget includes funding for 500 additional units. Combined with existing deployments, Kane said, TSA expects to have 1,000 units nationwide by the end of 2011.
"This will provide screening of nearly 65 percent of passengers for metallic and non-metallic threats," Kane said. Analyzing risks and space limitations, TSA announced 11 airports to get the first units, but had developed a longer list, Kane said. The committee asked TSA to provide that list.
"With these first 500, we get about 35 percent of passengers," Kane said. But given the location in high-traffic airports, Kane said, passengers "might have about a 90 percent chance of actually going through an AIT." Despite its traffic volumes, New York has yet to receive a unit due to space constraints, Kane told the committee.
AIT "produces an image of a passenger's body that a screener interprets," according to the GAO. The image "shows objects, or anomalies, on the outside of the physical body, but does not reveal items beneath the surface of the skin, such as implants." Millimeter wave technology produces an image that resembles a fuzzy photo negative" while the backscatter "image resembles a chalk etching," from the low-level X-ray.
With both, the shoeless passenger must stand still for a moment, arms over head as the image is captured. A TSA employee who cannot see passengers as they walk through security views each image and identifies via radio calls to another TSA officer those who need additional screening.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center and consumer advocate Ralph Nader in February asked the Obama administration to suspend deployment until a "comprehensive evaluation of the devices' effectiveness, health impacts and privacy safeguards is completed by an independent board of review."
In the joint letter, EPIC and Nader raised questions about the ability of the devices to work as the TSA claimed and noted that the Europeans in January "announced a three-month review of the effectiveness, health impacts and privacy risks before deciding whether to support the further deployment of body scanners in European airports." EU civil liberties, counter-terrorism and transport committees since January have debated the need for a European standard on airport body scanner deployments. An impact evaluation report, requested by Parliament in October 2008, is "to be published by the Commission in the coming weeks," according to the EU.
Kane noted that the technology, while a key component, is "just one element in a multi-layers strategy that includes behavior detection officers, bomb appraisal officers, federal air marshals, canine teams, well-trained personnel and a ready and engaged traveling public."
Specific to privacy concerns, Kane said, "TSA has implement strong safeguards--reviewed by the DHS Privacy Officer--to ensure the protection of passenger privacy and anonymity." The software blurs the face on the image during screening, "TSA requires that AIT machines in operation at airports cannot store images of screened passengers." Storage capabilities are activated only in testing, he added. TSA also requires that the officer who views the images be housed separate from the machine. "The passenger may choose whether to undergo screening by this technology or proceed through a walk-through metal detector followed by a pat down. Current data shows that over 98 percent of passengers opt for AIT screening."
Analyze This, Says GAO
Without the cost-benefit analysis, GAO remains concerned about the total cost of the AIT deployment.
"We estimate that the staffing costs alone associated with the plans to increase [the number of] AITs from 878 to 1,800 units, could add up to $2.4 billion dollars in additional costs over the project lifecycle," Lord said. "Moreover, the total staff cost for the 1,800 units could range as high as $4.7 billion dollars. These costs were not reflected in TSA's February 2010 lifecycle-cost estimate."
Citing TSA's cost estimate of $170,000 for each unit, "excluding training, installation and maintenance costs," GAO said the 1,800 units would cost about $300 million. In addition, TSA requested in the 2011 budget "$218.9 million for 3,500 additional full-time equivalents to help staff the AITs' deployed in that time frame," said GAO. Three employees are needed to operate each AIT.
Air travelers last year lodged more than 600 complaints about body scanners, according to documents TSA released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from EPIC. TSA said the figure was an "infinitesimally small" 0.015 percent of 4 million air travelers, according to media reports.
Advancements In Bag Screening, Too
To screen bags, TSA said it plans to continue to rely on X-ray machines, but has ready for "field testing" advanced technology that includes "automated detection algorithms for explosives, a capacity that we retrofitted to the over 900 AT X-rays that are currently deployed to 81 airports nationwide," Kane said.
TSA also "will procure approximately 1,300 additional machines and will deploy them to nearly every checkpoint by the end of 2011," Kane said.
Expanded use of Explosive Trace Detection equipment--"the workhorse of TSA's technology fleet since the agency's inception"--is expected as the 2011 budget includes "800 portable units to complement the approximately 2,000 tabletop" units deployed at checkpoints today. TSA plans to use the portable units to reduce the predictability of screenings, Kane said.
Next-generation "bottled liquid scanners" that provided enhanced detection of explosive threats of liquid or gels in carry-on bags are also coming soon, Kane said. TSA has purchased and started to deploy 500 such units and plans to buy 800 more by the end of 2010, he added.
Airline, airport and equipment manufacturers also testified at the subcommittee hearing.
American Association of Airport Executives president Charles Barclay said "airports are cautiously optimistic about AIT deployment, but have concerns" about building modifications and costs necessary to install the units, viewing rooms and additional staff. "Not surprisingly, airport executives are very concerned about a lack of federal funding to support the acquisition of space and costly terminal modifications that will likely be necessary to accommodate AIT equipment in numerous airport locations."