Nobody knows what they are . . . even though they were sealed," says Nico Melendez, spokesman for TSA's national office. "You are talking about thousands of items collected each day. If we could continue it, we certainly would. But all it would take is just one item that could be a harm to somebody that would be a huge liability to this organization and the taxpayers."
Originally Posted by
FlyingHoustonian
Herein lies the issue, and the PR is correct. Even if something is inherently safe, but "injures" a person, the lawsuits toward the TSA will fly. One trial with a punitive award of $10,000,000USD in taxpayer monies will make people even angrier. It would be nice if they could get some volunteers to check the items or come up with some process to ensure their safety.
Not an answer, just an excuse. Somebody got caught with their pants down when they made a decision to hand the confiscated items out to the home'esss and now the TSA is covering up by bringing in the threat of a potential lawsuit. Much easier to do that than to admit that the stuff is not a threat to anyone.