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In order to provide what it calls “an additional layer of security,” the Transportation Security Administration said that airline passengers can expect to face occasional checks for explosive residue in other parts of the airport besides the security checkpoints. The so-called Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) technology involves taking a swab from a traveler’s hands or luggage and analyzing it in a special piece of equipment on a mobile cart to see if the individual has been handling bomb-making materials lately. It has been tested in recent weeks at the Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta and Orlando airports, as well as two smaller airports in North Carolina. “Passengers can now expect to see the increased random use of ETD technology in areas where TSA currently conducts screening such as the security checkpoint, as well as in the checkpoint queue and boarding areas,” TSA said. “To ensure the health of travelers, screening swabs are disposed of after each use. Since it will be used on a random basis, passengers should not expect to see the same thing at every airport or each time they travel.” According to a security expert interviewed in USA Today, the ETD technology possibly could have caught the failed Christmas Day “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab; but he noted it is so sensitive it will also single out persons who have taken nitroglycerin heart pills or who have recently fired a gun.

Posted via web from Karl Jones