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TSA Ends Contract With Body Scan Manufacturer
The Transportation Security Administration has cancelled its contract with a company that supplies some of the more controversial full-body scan machines used at US airports.
The Los Angeles Times has reported the termination of the contract with Rapiscan, the maker of nearly half of the full-body scanners used by the TSA to screen passengers for weapons and other banned items.
The move reportedly came because Rapiscan would not be able to meet a June deadline for updating its scanning software.
Rapiscan's machines have been controversial because they produce what looks like a naked image of each passenger.
Other scanner manufacturers have been able to create a generic human outline that highlights any hidden object, and Rapiscan had been tasked with switching to that model.
The 174 Rapiscan machines now deployed will be removed and replaced with generic-image scanners made by L-3 Communications Holdings.
Some health officials have also questioned whether Rapiscan's machines expose passengers to harmful levels of x-ray radiation. L-3's machines use radio waves.
The Transportation Security Administration has cancelled its contract with a company that supplies some of the more controversial full-body scan machines used at US airports.
The Los Angeles Times has reported the termination of the contract with Rapiscan, the maker of nearly half of the full-body scanners used by the TSA to screen passengers for weapons and other banned items.
The move reportedly came because Rapiscan would not be able to meet a June deadline for updating its scanning software.
Rapiscan's machines have been controversial because they produce what looks like a naked image of each passenger.
Other scanner manufacturers have been able to create a generic human outline that highlights any hidden object, and Rapiscan had been tasked with switching to that model.
The 174 Rapiscan machines now deployed will be removed and replaced with generic-image scanners made by L-3 Communications Holdings.
Some health officials have also questioned whether Rapiscan's machines expose passengers to harmful levels of x-ray radiation. L-3's machines use radio waves.
