Body scanners coming to an airport near you, despite criticisms

PHOENIX - The Transportation Security Administration will continue to deploy body scanners at airports across the nation.

Sky Harbor International Airport is currently one of 29 airports with the machines.

According to the TSA website, the agency is deploying 450-advanced imaging technology units.

The TSA is expected to unveil the newest version of the scanners at Sky Harbor in the coming weeks.

There are two different, yet similar, scanners involved in the security move.

The Backscatter and Millimeter Wave Machines can penetrate a passengers clothing and reveal hidden items such as explosives or weapons.

“I think it’s a necessity,” said Kevin Shelton as he waited to fly out of Sky Harbor. “With new technology I think we should always be looking to the forefront of safety.”

The two machines have faced criticism in the past due to privacy concerns.

 Some feel the images produced from the machines are too revealing, showing a person’s body outline or detailed image.

“I feel its kind of an invasion of my privacy a little bit,” said Colleen Hogan while sitting inside Sky Harbor Airport. “I guess however, more is better I’m sure in the case of security and saving lives.”

On its website, the TSA states it has implemented measures to protect passenger privacy and that the images cannot be stored, transmitted or printed.

According to the federal agency, the amount of radiation from the Backscatter machine is equivalent to two minutes of flight on an airplane and the amount of energy from the Millimeter Wave machine is 10,000 times less than a cell phone transmission.

The use of the scanners is optional to passengers.