Just days before the anniversary of September 11, the TSA is adding yet another layer to security screening at airport checkpoints nationwide.
Yesterday the agency announced that all U.S. airports will be getting kits to test for potentially lethal powders in passenger carry-on baggage, but reassured the public that there was no specific threat at this time.
So how will this affect passengers who already spend quite a bit of time waiting in security lines?
“These enhancements are part of TSA’s efforts to stay ahead of emerging threats while continually strengthening our layered approach to security,” said acting administrator Gale Rossides in a press release on the TSA Web site.
The agency stated that the measures were implemented to detect powders that could be used by terrorists in improvised explosive devices.
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The move is bound to create more inconvenience for passengers at TSA airport checkpoints. Not only will liquids, shoes and laptop computers continue to be subjected to additional scrutiny, but now any powdery substances could also be targeted for additional testing.
However, the TSA maintains that the new policy will cause minimal disruption, and that only a tiny percentage of bags will have to undergo additional screening.
Under the new procedure, passengers will still send their carry-on bags through the X-ray machine as usual. If a suspicious powder is detected, a small sample will be mixed with a liquid testing solution to determine if it is in fact dangerous. If so, it will not be allowed into the secure area of the airport.
The TSA did not say which types of substances would be subject to testing, but it specifically exempted the “vast majority” of common powders like those used in medications, infant formula and makeup. Whether or not that will hold true in practice remains to be seen.
The agency has come under fire during the three years since it implemented the three-ounce limit on carry-on liquids, because of the seemingly inconsistent application of the rules from airport to airport, and the relatively lax scrutiny of airport workers.
Others claim that checkpoint screening measures are heavy-handed and unnecessary, and that solid intelligence work will go further toward preventing terrorist attacks than scrutinizing passenger baggage.
However, despite hopes to the contrary, it seems unlikely that either the liquid rule or powder testing will be dropped anytime soon.
Friday is the eighth anniversary of the terrorist bombings of September 11, 2001, and last Monday three men were convicted of plotting to smuggle liquid explosives aboard seven trans-Atlantic planes in 2006.
The trio, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, planned to conceal hydrogen peroxide in soft-drink bottles and detonate it with devices powered by AA-size batteries.
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related links: TSA.gov, CNN, New York Times
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