I am not a scientist, but I inspect machinery with electronic detection techniques that to the average observer appear to be very complex and hard to understand. That is because they are. ETD and even the X-ray of bags is no different.

When my tools show a problem within the machine, I always first double check the operation of my equipment before I automatically assume the machine is bad. I run multiple non-evasive tests to confirm and determine severity. The absolute last thing we do is take the machine apart and look inside.

It seems with the TSA that they get one bad test, and it is hands on immediately. There is no question that there may have been a problem with the test, let's just take the "machine" apart and see what is wrong with no thought of the comfort or humiliation of the tested.

I follow meticulous procedures, as I am certain that you do as well, to minimize error from contaminated data, proper reading and measurement of samples and maintaining calibration of devices. In general, should an anomaly be reported by the equipment, it is my FIRST thought that the test may be faulty and that possibility eliminated. It seems with the TSA their machines can never be seen as fallible, just like their people. We must be led to believe in their perfection and if we question it or their procedures, it is further evidence that we are indeed the criminal that they suspect us to be just because we had the audacity to buy a ticket to get on an airplane.