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TSA to pull pricey anti-terror machine from Sky Harbor

Reported by: Christopher Sign
Email: csign@abc15.com
Last Update: 5/22 7:27 am
TSA to pull pricey anti-terror machine from Sky Harbor
Video Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the story

A high-tech security machine designed to detect explosive particles on passengers will soon be removed from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

The Explosives Trace Portal, commonly referred to as the "puffer machine," blasts several quick spurts of air against a passenger as they stand in a glass portal.

The Transportation Security Administration spent an estimated $30 million on the machines, starting in 2004 when it purchased more than 200 of the security devices.

Now, the agency is pulling the "puffer machines" because some had trouble detecting bombs.

An agency spokesperson told the Associated Press that dirt and humidity in some airports led to breakdowns.

The machines cost an estimated $160,000 each and were designed to detect bomb and explosive residue on clothing.

"I think it's a big waste of money," said Phoenix resident Daniel Swihart while sitting in Sky Harbor Airport.

It will cost the TSA an estimated $1 million to remove the machines from 37 airports across the country.

"I'm just very shocked at the cost of what the TSA is doing. Wow," said Phoenix resident Larry Lautenbach.

The TSA is expected to replace the "puffer machines" with x-ray style body scanners that can penetrate a passenger's clothing and reveal hidden weapons.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport has already tested the x-ray device, called a "backscatter."
Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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