The TSA Web site section on imaging technology states that passengers can refuse to go through the full-body scanner, which sees through clothing.
“These technologies are optional for all passengers,” the Web site states. “Passengers who do not wish to utilize this screening receive an equal level of screening and undergo a pat-down procedure.”
Some experts say that scanning technology is not necessarily the “silver bullet” for keeping terrorists armed with explosives from boarding planes.
By Penny Starr
CNS News | The four international airports in Nigeria are equipped with full-body scanners -- the same technology that the United States and other countries are now scrambling to put into place following the attempted bombing of an American airliner on Christmas Day by a Nigerian terrorist.The scanners were paid for by the United States and installed in 2007, according to the State Department’s 2008 Country Reports on Terrorism.
“The Nigerian government approved the installation of U.S.-funded body scanners in all four international airports to detect explosives and drugs on passengers,” said the report, which is required by U.S. law to be provided to Congress annually. “The scanners were installed in March, May and June. The Nigerian and U.S. governments also co-sponsored a conference on aviation security in Abuja from November 17-18.”
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian national accused of the attack, traveled from Ghana in West Africa, through Lagos, Nigeria, to Amsterdam, Holland, where he boarded a Northwest plane bound for Detroit.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has had the scanning technology in place since 2007, although some reports say Dutch officials will be beefing up security at the airport because of the attempted terrorist attack.
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