[nagdu] A Letter from Kimberly Walton, Special Counselor, TSA re: TSA's New Procedures

Tue Nov 23 17:56:26 UTC 2010

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
601 South 12th Street 
Arlington, VA 20598 

NOV 22 2010 
Transportation Security Administration 

Dear Members of the Disability Community: 

You have probably been hearing and seeing a lot in the media
lately about the Transportation 
Security Administration's new screening procedures. As much of
what has been circulating has 
been exaggerated and/or inaccurate, and with the holiday travel
season rapidly approaching,  I wanted to take this opportunity to
clarify our procedures and hopefully address concerns  you may
have. 

TSA began piloting the use of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT)
in 2007. It is a highly 
effective security tool, and represents the best technology
available today to screen  passengers for both metallic and
non-metallic threats. Currently, there are 411 imaging
technology units at 69 airports. The most important thing you
need to do to prepare for AIT  screening is to make sure that you
remove everything from your pockets (including your  wallet) and
also remove any bulky jewelry. 

TSA uses two types of imaging technology, millimeter wave and
backscatter. The backscatter 
machines use narrow, low~intensity X~ray beams scanned over the
body surface at high speed. 
The amount of radiation a person receives is miniscule; a person
receives more radiation 
naturally each hour than from one screening with a backscatter
unit. In fact a traveler is  exposed to less radiation from one
AIT scan than from 2 minutes of an airline flight. It  produces
an image that resembles a chalk-etching, and has a privacy filter
applied to the  entire body. 

Millimeter wave technology bounces harmless electromagnetic waves
off of the human body to 
create a black and white image. The energy emitted by millimeter
wave technology is  thousands of times less than what is
permitted for a cell phone. Millimeter wave technology  has a
privacy filter that blurs facial features. 

This technology is safe. Multiple third-party scientific and
health organizations, including  the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and Johns Hopkins University, have collected and 
analyzed data and concur that this technology is safe for both
officers and passengers. For  more information about safety see 

http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdffjhaplv2.pdf

and

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/201
0/1If08Ibackscatter-back-story. 

Great efforts have been taken to ensure passengers' privacy in
implementing this technology.  To that end, all images generated
by imaging technology are viewed in a remotely-located  security
location that is not visible to the public. The officer assisting
the passenger  cannot view the image, and as an additional
precaution, the officer viewing the image is in  a remote
location and never sees the passenger. 

In addition to the privacy filters discussed previously, imaging
technology cannot store,  export, print, or transmit images. All
images are deleted from the system after they are  reviewed by
the remotely located operator, and all machines have zero storage
capability  because they are disabled by the vendor before they
reach airports. No cameras, cellular  telephones, or any device
capable ofcapturing an image is permitted in the resolution room.

Imaging technology has had a very high rate of acceptance among
the travelling public. Since 
imaging technology has been deployed at airports, over 99 percent
ofpassengers choose to be 
screened by this technology over alternative screening
procedures. According to a new CBS 
poll, 4 out of 5 Americans support the use of advanced imaging
technology at airports 
nationwide (cbsnews.com).Visit 

http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/aitireading.shtm 

to see more independent polling on AIT acceptance. 

While you have probably also been hearing a lot about pat-downs
lately, the use of pat-downs  is not new. Pat-downs have long
been one of the many security measures TSA and many other 
countries have used in its risk-based approach to help detect
hidden and dangerous items  such as explosives like the one we
saw in the failed terrorist attack last Christmas Day.  Pat-downs
are primarily used to resolve alarms that occur at a walk-through
metal detector,  if an anomaly is detected during AIT screening,
or during random screening. In any of these  situations you will
be given a pat-down before you're able to continue on to your
flight.  External medical devices can be detected by AIT.
Remember if you are uncomfortable being  patted-down in public
you can always ask for a private screening, and ifyou have areas
that  are sensitive or have an 
external medical device, please let the security officer know. 

AIT screening is optional for everyone; however, passengers who
opt out of screening by AIT  or through metal detectors must
undergo alternate screening using a pat-down. There is 
nothing punitive about our measures; it just makes good security
sense. Given that those who 
wish to do us harm have moved towards the use of  artfully
concealed smaller items and 
homemade explosives, the pat-down you receive will be more
thorough than what you may have 
received previously. Pat-downs are conducted to provide an
equivalent degree of screening  and ensure that the passenger is
free of all prohibited items. 

Some people with disabilities are ineligible for screening using
AIT including the  following: 
people who use wheelchairs and scooters who cannot stand; anyone
who cannot stand with their 
arms raised at shoulder level for the 5-7 second duration ofthe
scan; anyone who is not able  to stand without the use of a cane,
crutch, walker, etc; people who use service animals;  people
using or carrying oxygen; and individuals accompanying and
providing assistance to  those individuals described above. These
people will be screened using alternate screening  techniques
including pat-downs. 

I hope that you find the information provided useful and wish you
safe and happy travels. We 
will continue to work with you, our partners, to implement
procedures that screen all  passengers with the dignity and
respect they deserve. Should you have additional questions,
please direct them to Rhonda Basha, Director, Office ofDisability
Policy and Outreach (ODPO)  at rhonda.basha at dhs.gov or Brewster
Thackeray, Senior Policy Advisor, ODPO at brewster.
thackeray at tsa.dhs.gov. 

Kimberly alton 
Special Counselor 
Transportation Security Administration 