U.S. to test less-intrusive trace detector system for airport security
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration plans to conduct tests of technology that identifies explosives at airports.
The automated checkpoint particle trace detector, developed by TraceGuard Technologies, has already undergone trials at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport.
Termed CompactSafe, the technology was designed to examine for explosives such items as bags, computers, medical equipment, cameras and other electronic devices. The device, which can complete a search within 30 seconds, was designed to scan appliances difficult to place through standard scanners without dismantling the equipment.
TSA has employed carbon to obtain samples for a chemical analysis to determine the presence of explosives. But passengers have complained that this method involves opening their items.
In contrast, CompactSafe, which in March 2007 completed three weeks of trials at Ben-Gurion Airport, uses air jetting, pressurization and vibrations to extract particles. The extracted particles are captured by a filter, deposited in the chemical analyzer.
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So far, TraceGuard has reported a 95 percent detection rate. Executives said CompactSafe would cost around $50,000 per unit.
"We are talking with TSA following what we are doing here in Israel with the Israeli Airports Authority and the Israeli Security Agency, and I believe that TSA has already expressed an interest in that capability," TraceGuard Technologies chief executive officer Ehud Ganani.
"We hope that before the end of the year, we will be able to have them test our machine in the U.S."
The Israeli company has also developed variants to detect explosives in air cargo. Twenty-two percent of all air cargo in the United States are transported on passenger flights.
The U.S. Congress has passed legislation that would increase inspection of air cargo. In May 2007, a U.S. airport directors delegation toured Ben-Gurion Airport and examined security measures. Unlike the United States, Israel employs profiling.
