Controversial TSA X-Ray Scanners Out at O'Hare

By JoshMogerman in News on Oct 22, 2012 1:40PM

If a virtual strip search is your idea of fun, fly out of Midway. That’s because the “backscatter” X-ray body scanners that have been a constant source of controversy due to the naked passenger images produced, as well as the shot of radiation they deal out, are on their way out at O’Hare.

The Transportation Security Administration has been pulling the scanners from the nation’s busiest airports in recent weeks. TSA officials say that the move relates to the need to limit delays in airport security lines created by an officer reviewing each blurred nudie picture generated by the X-ray machines. The replacement scanners use technology similar to your cell phone to more quickly create a generic cartoon image. The new scanners also eliminate the dose of cosmic radiation that has led the European Union to outlaw the X-ray scanners’ use. The TSA has repeatedly claimed that the radiation emitted by the backscatter scanners is less than travelers receive in two minutes of flight time (or eating a banana?), but that has not convinced many experts (and Fantastic Four fans) that they are worth the increased risk.

Since the decision apparently has nothing do with radiation or embarrassment over TSA agents gawking blurry nude images all day long, Chicago is not free of the x-ray scanners, which the ACLU has branded as “virtual strip searches.” The Daily Herald notes they will remain at Midway, which apparently has more efficient security lines that do not require the same speed up as O’Hare (we must just be unlucky when we fly out of the South Side airport…sigh). But don’t expect the big airport lines to shrink immediately. While the new machines eliminate a bunch of problems, ProPublica reports that they can generate false alarms at a rate 10-times more frequent than the current machines.