TSA Begins Testing New Body Scanning System

LAS VEGAS - The Transportation Security Administration began testing Tuesday on a new, more modest body scanning system at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, with similar tests scheduled to take place at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the coming days.

Critics have complained that the full-body scans are intrusive, but TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird says the software being unveiled Tuesday lets passengers see what its security screeners see, and it uses a more generic image.

The new scanning system will auto-detect potential threat items and will indicate their location on a generic outline of a person, which will be identical for all passengers.

"We are always looking for new technology and procedures that will both enhance security while strengthening privacy protections," TSA Administrator John Pistole said. "Testing this new software will help us confirm test results that indicate it can provide the same high level of security as current advanced imaging technology units while further enhancing the privacy protections already in place."

Baird says the TSA is trying to determine whether it can improve privacy protections and maintain the same security levels.

There are nearly 500 full-body scanners in use at 78 airports. The scans show a traveler's physical contours on a computer screen and can reveal hidden weapons or explosives. Faces aren't shown, and the images are viewed in a private room, but many people say it still reveals too much about what's under their clothes. With the new scanners, TSA officers won't have to view image in a separate room.

Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration says it is not going to hire private contractors to screen airline passengers, despite calls from a powerful Florida congressman to do so.

TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a memo to his employees late Friday that the federal agency will keep private contractors at 16 U.S. airports, but will not use them anywhere else unless a clear advantage emerges in the future.

Pistole's memo comes two months after Florida Republican Rep. John Mica wrote to the country's busiest airports and asked them to use private security guards.

The issue of airport security intensified last year when passengers complained about full-body scans and a more intrusive style of pat-down searches.