Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate - Boston Logan upgrading to privacy enhanced body scanners

Interesting that the TSA at BOS are replacing their Ionizing Backscatter WBIs with MMW WBIs.

http://atwonline.com/airports-routes/article/boston-logan-upgrading-privacy-enhanced-body-scanners-0702

Does this have something to do with the health risks involved with the Ionizing X-Ray, something the TSA would never ever own up to? More of our taxpayers money being wasted!

Interesting that the TSA at BOS are replacing their Ionizing Backscatter WBIs with MMW WBIs.


I wonder if this is more evidence of a trend against the Backscatter. If so, I bet Rape-scan wishes they could claw back some of Chertoff's lobbying fees.

Some risk-management type at TSA probably loses sleep every night wondering if the first credible reports of cancer from the bsx will appear on their watch, especially cases in women of child bearing age or children.

As an aside, from the article:

The process may then be “nearly as fast” as walk-through metal detectors, US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) federal security director-Mass. George Naccara told ATW.


I find the "nearly as fast" quite funny. When the concept of a NoS was introduced, the original claim was that it would be virtually instant and that you wouldn't have to remove shoes, coats, hats, etc., let alone empty your pockets of everything from wallets to lint. It was portrayed as a convenience to passengers. Of course the path from concept to TSA implementation is not a pretty one.

BOS will end up swapping out all 25 of the airport’s Rapiscan Systems AIT units with L-3 Security ProVision AIT units by the fall. TSA last year announced it would spend $44.8 million to purchase 300 of the upgraded units

Let's see...

According to the Seattle Times, and assuming their numbers are correct, each Cancer Box cost $170K (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travelwise/2013275327_trpucci31.html)

So, we taxpayers have already paid ~$4.25M just for the hardware cost. You have to assume they had a couple of spares and we have no way of quickly determining maintenance costs, spare parts, training, or related costs such as the Pervert Booth or the spiffy wireless headsets.

If we assume, for the moment, that the total cost of the contract is just to procure the new Porno Scanners, dividing 300 into $44.8M equals about $150K per unit. That's very much in the ballpark of $130K - $170K per unit.

So, my very rough estimate for the total cost of this endeavor:

1. Sunk cost of Cancer Boxes already installed: $4.25M
2. Cost of new Porno Scanners: $3.75M
3. Non-recurring cost estimate*: $2.5M

Total cost (and most likely a very low estimate): ~$10.5M

The good news is that the GSA will likely sell the Cancer Boxes as surplus, as we saw a while back. First, there has to be a Federal Register notice that the TSA is surplussing 25 Cancer Boxes. Any other government agency has first dibs to grab them -- kinda' like a ballplayer on waivers. Once the Cancer Boxes clear waivers, the GSA can sell them to anyone who wants to buy them.

This will be a great opportunity for a lab or other citizen to grab an real operational Cancer Box at a bargain basement price and do what the TSA fears doing: test a real unit.




*Wild guess that removal, disposal, installation & checkout, and miscellaneous cost is about $50K per scanner x 50 scanners (25 out; 25 in)

I wanted to keep the cost analysis separate from some other interesting things from the article:

If selected, Pre-Check may allow travelers to keep shoes, light outerwear and belts on, skip AIT units – at least until the software upgrade – keep laptops in a case, and keep 3oz-or-less liquids in carry-on luggage.

So, this means that you will still have to go through the Porno Scanners after having been deemed one of the PreCheck Privileged Class.

Naccara told ATW that BOS is now the only airport in the US to have implemented all risk-based security measures comprising: “honor flights” to Washington DC for WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, modified screening for passengers age 12 and under or over 75, the “known crew member” program and its new dedicated Pre-Check lane in domestic Terminal A. It is also one of only two airports in the country to apply the “assessor proof of concept” (PoC) strategy. Under PoC, 70 of BOS’s 1,350 TSA agents are specially trained to recognize abnormalities in passengers’ behavior, which has so far led to the successful screening and arrest of 55 travelers involved in criminal acts since the program began in August.

It looks like they have renamed the SPOTNik program to this name, which is meaningless. They must have lumped SPOTNik in with the ID interrogations. I guess they define success as taking 55 druggies, deadbeat dads, and college kids with fake IDs off America's streets.

This will be a great opportunity for a lab or other citizen to grab an real operational Cancer Box at a bargain basement price and do what the TSA fears doing: test a real unit.


I think that's unlikely to be helpful. TSA will likely challenge any results, on the grounds that:


the lab didn't duplicate the Sooper Secret Operating Instructions(TM), especially if some Sooper Secret Technology(TM) was removed from the machines prior to sale
the lab didn't duplicate the conditions at the checkpoint where the machines were being used
the machines being sold weren't in proper operating condition


To be fair, at least one of those complaints is likely to be valid.

And so, we'll be back in yet another round of "The 70% screening failure rate for finding firearms is outdated".

I think that's unlikely to be helpful. TSA will likely challenge any results, on the grounds that:


the lab didn't duplicate the Sooper Secret Operating Instructions(TM), especially if some Sooper Secret Technology(TM) was removed from the machines prior to sale
the lab didn't duplicate the conditions at the checkpoint where the machines were being used
the machines being sold weren't in proper operating condition


To be fair, at least one of those complaints is likely to be valid.

And so, we'll be back in yet another round of "The 70% screening failure rate for finding firearms is outdated".

I know enough of the folks at Hopkins to know that they would love to get their hands on an operational machine, employ all of the scientific rigor for which they are known in order to remove the factors you cite as causes of inaccuracies, and exonerate their reputation.

There's no way that the TSA can effectively counter the arguments or the results. That's why they didn't give APL a real operational unit in the first place. They can only do it by attacking the researchers.

So, this means that you will still have to go through the Porno Scanners after having been deemed one of the PreCheck Privileged Class.

I doubt that is accurate.

..
The good news is that the GSA will likely sell the Cancer Boxes as surplus, as we saw a while back. First, there has to be a Federal Register notice that the TSA is surplussing 25 Cancer Boxes. ...Once the Cancer Boxes clear waivers, the GSA can sell them to anyone who wants to buy them.

This will be a great opportunity for a lab or other citizen to grab an real operational Cancer Box at a bargain basement price and do what the TSA fears doing: test a real unit.
...

The refusal to show sample images from these machines claimed SSI. If they do sell these to anyone who wants to buy, this claim will be shown to be false, that the only reason for not releasing real images was to limit political fallout, to limit political debate.

I think that's unlikely to be helpful. TSA will likely challenge any results, on the grounds that:


the lab didn't duplicate the Sooper Secret Operating Instructions(TM), especially if some Sooper Secret Technology(TM) was removed from the machines prior to sale
the lab didn't duplicate the conditions at the checkpoint where the machines were being used
the machines being sold weren't in proper operating condition


To be fair, at least one of those complaints is likely to be valid.

And so, we'll be back in yet another round of "The 70% screening failure rate for finding firearms is outdated".

Mr. Huggins, you KNOW that none of those things will matter, fair or not. All that will matter are the numbers that get press. If the numbers reflect badly on those machines, the pressure ratchets up to test the "real, operational" machines. Likewise the images.

I doubt that is accurate.

Far be it from me to even suggest that a Federal Security Director, a Senior Executive Service employee of the Department of Homeland Security, would be inaccurate! :rolleyes:

The good news is that the GSA will likely sell the Cancer Boxes as surplus, as we saw a while back. First, there has to be a Federal Register notice that the TSA is surplussing 25 Cancer Boxes. Any other government agency has first dibs to grab them -- kinda' like a ballplayer on waivers. Once the Cancer Boxes clear waivers, the GSA can sell them to anyone who wants to buy them.

Out of an abundance of cation, I doubt that they will get that far. TSA will probably will arrange for them to be repurposed for scanning non living items. And they will never see the light of day in their current form.

Mr. Huggins, you KNOW that none of those things will matter, fair or not. All that will matter are the numbers that get press. If the numbers reflect badly on those machines, the pressure ratchets up to test the "real, operational" machines. Likewise the images.

I'm not convinced. The 70% failure rate on detecting firearms is pretty damning; yet the only official response TSA has on that issue is "well, that number is from an old test, so it's not relevant".

At this point ... frankly, I'm not sure what would matter to TSA. TSA seems pretty impervious to external pressure.

Far be it from me to even suggest that a Federal Security Director, a Senior Executive Service employee of the Department of Homeland Security, would be inaccurate! :rolleyes:

Are AFSDs also SES?

That agency is so bloated.

Are AFSDs also SES?

That agency is so bloated.

No. They're GS-15s

I doubt that is accurate.

If selected, Pre-Checkmay allow travelers to keep shoes, light outerwear and belts on, skip AIT units – at least until the software upgrade – keep laptops in a case, and keep 3oz-or-less liquids in carry-on luggage.

Good. A minor step in the right direction. At least now when I opt out, I won't have to worry about having to stand near the cancer boxes. Precheck is already at the DL C/P in terminal A, it cannot come to the AA C/P at terminal B fast enough. They took the BKSX out of one of the lanes at the AA C/P, though that WTMD-only lane is never open to the public. Supposedly it will be used for Precheck, whenever that makes it to B.

Good. A minor step in the right direction. At least now when I opt out, I won't have to worry about having to stand near the cancer boxes. Precheck is already at the DL C/P in terminal A, it cannot come to the AA C/P at terminal B fast enough. They took the BKSX out of one of the lanes at the AA C/P, though that WTMD-only lane is never open to the public. Supposedly it will be used for Precheck, whenever that makes it to B.

I'm not sure what's happening at the AA checkpoint right now. That WTMD-only lane on the left now has a BKSX (happened within the last two weeks) and the pair of lanes on the far right has construction walls around it. I'm not sure if they moved the BKSX from over there to the lane on the left or if they managed to find another BKSX somewhere. It was probably an easy installation because the plexiglass partitions/gates and WTMD in that lane on the far left were always in the BKSX configuration, just without the BKSX there (until now).

BOS except for the VX checkpoint in Terminal B North seems to have gone whole-hog with WBI over the last two years. I'm hoping that there will be places where they can't fit the MMWs so they'll be avoidable. Presently, in Terminal E (International), Gates E1A-E1E (WN-FL) are always red (BKSX all the time - I've had to opt out 100% of the time going through there). I'm not sure if the ceiling clearance at that C/P is high enough for the MMW units so we'll see about that one.

Speaking of the AA C/P - I did get lucky going through last summer and got pointed to WTMD when the BKSX was backed up. Of course, my flight got cancelled, but that's beside the point.

I'm not sure how trustworthy this article is, but does anyone think that maybe the details aren't correct? With the test of the BKSX w/ ATR at PIT last month, it makes me wonder if this is what we will actually get at BOS.

Even though we all despise BKSX, the one good thing about it compared to MMW w/ ATR is that it is very sloowww! I have been pointed to the WTMD numerous times when the BKSX has gotten backed up. I am afraid that whatever sort of body scanner enhancement/replacement occurs will make TSA more aggressive about sending people through the NOS.

I'm not sure what's happening at the AA checkpoint right now. That WTMD-only lane on the left now has a BKSX (happened within the last two weeks) and the pair of lanes on the far right has construction walls around it. I'm not sure if they moved the BKSX from over there to the lane on the left or if they managed to find another BKSX somewhere. It was probably an easy installation because the plexiglass partitions/gates and WTMD in that lane on the far left were always in the BKSX configuration, just without the BKSX there (until now).

Wasn't the BKSX there before, then they removed it? And now they've put it back again? :rolleyes:

Maybe it has something to do with the construction they are doing in the semicircle around between the North and South Terminal B buildings, and wanting to move UA over there so B6 can have all of Terminal C. It would be great if they put precheck there and AA reopened an elite check-in next to it, but that is pure speculation on my part with no inside sources or anything behind it.

What does this say about the supposed BKSX w/ATD testing that was going on at PIT?

What does this say about the supposed BKSX w/ATD testing that was going on at PIT?

I don't know. Here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/checkpoints-borders-policy-debate/1359582-backscatter-getting-atd.html) is my existing thread on BKSX + ATD. When I saw this thread title, I thought that BOS was going to upgrade their Rapiscan machines with the ATD too like the testbed in use at PIT. However, the article clearly mentions removing the Rapiscan machines with L-3 MMW.

The one in use at PIT was definitely a Rapiscan parallel blue walls model with the protruding LCD panel on the exit side similar to after the MMW setting ATD. If someone doesn't have a picture before the end of the month, I will be able to get one after my next flight.