"Airport scanners will soon reveal travellers' naked truth in UK"

Monday, May 10, 2004

Airport scanners will soon reveal travellers' naked truth in UK 
By MARIE WOOLF 
The New Zealand Herald


It may sound like a gadget from a futuristic Arnold Schwarzenegger film.
But full-body scanners - which see straight through people's clothing -
are coming soon to airports in the UK. 

A high-tech security screening system, designed to detect guns and other
offensive weapons concealed on the body, will this month be unveiled by
the defence technology firm, Qinetiq, which is part-owned by the
Government. 

The scanners, expected to be deployed within a year as part of Britain's
armoury against terror, capture the naked image of a traveller even if
he or she is wearing several layers of clothing. But to protect people's
modesty they come replete with "fig leaf technology" that detects which
parts of the body need screening out. 

The system, which uses a special light frequency to see through
clothing, was successfully trialled at Gatwick airport and will go on
display at this year's Farnborough air show. 

The technology was originally developed for the Ministry of Defence to
use in military helicopters to enable them to see through fog. But it
has now been adapted by Qinetiq, which used to be part of the top secret
defence research establishment at Porton Down, for civilian use. 

The airport scanners are designed to detect concealed metallic objects
including knives, guns, hand-grenades and shoe bombs on a fully-clad
human being. 

However, the millimetre wave sensors will also highlight metallic items
of clothing including bra clasps, trouser flies and buttons. People with
pacemakers, metal pins in bones and reconstructed jaws may also find
their secrets revealed. 

Airport operators will be thoroughly screened to ensure their motives
are not prurient or voyeuristic, Qinetiq said. British Government
sources say it could help tighten security at airports while ensuring
that passengers are not subjected to delays. 

Duncan Valentine, managing director of the transport sector at Qinetiq,
said that he believed the scanners would soon be in common use. "This
launch is a significant development in the fight against terrorism and
we foresee millimetre wave technology becoming to people screening what
X-ray is now to baggage screening." 

Experts say that the millimetre wave scanner, unlike X-rays, poses no
health risks to human beings because it uses part of the light spectrum,
to which people are exposed every day, to see through clothing. 

They believe it will cut down waits for security screening at airports
significantly and dispense with the "pat down" by security guards. Only
people who are shown to be carrying suspicious looking metallic options
in clothing or shoes will have to be checked by security personnel. 

"It has the ability to penetrate natural materials," said one expert.
"What you would aim to do is to project any threats that are found onto
a screen. It would look as if someone is wearing a body stocking." 

The technology has already been successfully piloted at British ports
where scanners have seen through lorry walls to detect hundreds of
illegal immigrants being smuggled into Britain. The body scanners are
expected to be available within a year for other premises with high
security, including government buildings and VIP conferences. 

The airports are also looking at employing other cutting edge technology
to secure airport perimeters. Radar is being trialled as a way of
preventing terrorists and intruders reaching secure areas. The radar can
detect people after they cross an invisible line, while ensuring that
dogs and wild animals that stray do not prompt security alerts or set
off alarms. 

British ports are also looking at deploying James-Bond style "diver
detection" sonar to stop terrorists planting mines from the sea. The
sonar would give advance warning if divers are approaching a secure
area.


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