TSA orders $52 million in new airport security technology

The Transportation Security Administration last week said it has placed orders worth more than $52 million for next-generation security scanning technology from various manufacturers. The orders include 125 new AT x-ray scanners – high-definition, multi-view systems that give TSA agents “clearer, more defined images” of baggage than existing x-ray devices; 223 hand-held scanners that can be used to detect liquid explosives and traces of explosive chemicals; and 37 “cast and prosthetics screening devices,” which use backscatter x-rays to look for “concealed threats” under or within plaster casts, prosthetic limbs and heavy bandages. TSA also ordered 12 “passive millimeter wave technology” devices for use in mass transit systems. “The technology detects and measures the waves naturally emitted by the human body and determines if there is anything concealed on the human body,” the agency said. In other developments, TSA has also stepped up scrutiny of airline passengers’ carry-ons for remote-controlled toys. The agency is not banning passengers from carrying them onto aircraft, but anyone who has one in their carry-on might be subjected to more intense screening.