Puffer/Scanner at security in FLL
 

Boarding a flight in C concourse at FLL the other day, I had my first experience with the new TSA machines. I am curious just what all these things do. I don't recall what its called but it had General Electric branding on it and is about the size of a large phone booth. You step inside, place your feet on designated spot, several very strong puffs of air hit you and ruffle your clothing, then you get scanned for about 20 seconds or so before you get a green light and the door opens for you to exit. The weird thing about this to me was that I could actually feel a slight tingling on my skin or the hair on my arms.

What is this machine actually doing? Sniffing for explosives? X-raying my body or in some way peering through my clothes? Seems a more than a little big-brotherish to me, and it was very slow going with a very long line.

Officially, these are supposed to be sniffing for explosive and chemical residue. However, I have heard that they are also being used to detect narcotics as well.

I would imagine it is fairly easy to train these devices to detect any type of chemical residue by just calibrating the sensors with whatever chemical "fingerprint" you're interested in detecting.

They've had one of those at SFO in the UA elite/F/C checkpoint for a while now. They have to encourage people to use that part of the line. You can avoid it if you want to. I avoid it. There's no benefit to using it as you still have to go through the normal checks after you go through the booth.

-David

I'll have to remember to step in fresh wet load of dogsh!t before getting into one of those things.

You know, the kind that curls up along the sides of your shoe, not just on the sole.

Let them calibrate the readings against a whiff of that.

I like it, there is one of these at LAS and the line seems to move a lot faster as you don't have to take off your shoes.

Thye are now also at MIA G Gates. Seemings like SSSS selection....

mpc1

I agree. There is one at IND in term D and I always go that direction as I dont have to take off my shoes with that machine.

There's one in SJU, but I've only ever seen it in operation once through my trips here. The CN Tower has about 8-9 of them that I saw running around Christmas time. Interestingly, you can go through (according to the security guards there) with your belongings (metal or otherwise). I can't remember if that was the case with the SJU one when I saw it working though.

I believe this thread to be better suited to Travel Safety/Security than Travel Tech. Please follow it there.


Regards,
Kanebear
Moderator, Travel Technology

Hah, people would rather have a machine sniff them than take off their shoes :D

Actually, yes.

IND has a puffer at B/C checkpoint too. ^

deleted

:confused:

You go through the WTMD, screener 'suggests' you remove your shoes, you refuse, get escorted to the puffer, clear it, collect your stuff. Works fine whether it's before or after the WTMD, but the process is a little quicker if it's before. You can't collect your belongings until you've done both and it's easier to pick them up right after the WTMD due to its proximity to the x-ray.

I went through the puffer yesterday in SFO (not knowing that these existed). It was obnoxious to say the least. I do not understand why we as citizens are continually hassled as we try and lead our ordinary lives.

Moreover, I don't understand why it is that we, as citizens, are not saying NO?! Turns out that the TSA group in SFO is actually NOT TSA - they were standing around, talking, chatting, etc. while I was going through this - nobody would gather my belongings, nobody looked at the machine, the guard (or whatever they are called) could not tell me what was actually in the machine in terms of "is it radiation like an X-ray?" etc.

BTW - you HAD to take off your shoes an belts in SFO yesterday (which I did). I was not ssss or anything else on my ticket.

This morning I called both of my senators as well as the Seattle Times to ask them to look into this. More and more rights being eroded every day imo. (No, I'm not "Spiffing" here - just an observation ;)).

As far as checking people and clothing for explosives goes, the puffer is the most effective method. The ETD is nearly as effective, but you'd have to swab most of the person to be as effective as the puffer. I think being swabbed all over would be more obnoxious than being puffed.

X-raying selected articles of clothing, e.g. shoes is just about useless when it comes to detecting explosives. The x-ray will not tell the screener there are explosives present. The screener would have to make a visual determination that something is not what it appears to be. Moreover, since explosives are malleable and non-metallic, they can be hidden in clothing or in a person. The puffer will catch such a ploy. The ETD will probably catch such a ploy. The x-ray will not.

I am all for the puffer and 100% against the Shoe Carnival. If Team SFO tells you your shoes must come off, politely tell them NO. I did that last month and just got the ETD treatment. No cheap feels. No arrest.

I used to refuse to remove my shoes. I finally gave up since it's faster and easier for me to just do it, and easier on me to not get PO-ed about it. Though I agree completely. The cig lighter rules are equally stupid.

I don't go through the puffer at SFO.

BTW, I believe that if the machine finds (sniffs?) something, the doors won't open on their own. The device also serves as a "man" trap. (or should I say "person" trap?) :) Anyway, they don't really have to watch you in there. Maybe if it finds something serious, it should just activate the disintegration beam? :)

-David

Unless someone can update with a more recent experience, the puffer setup at EWR T-A still requires shoe removal before going through the WTMD after clearing the puffer.

I still refuse to go through that line.

That's because a few airports like EWR and DEN have filthy little shoe pervert FSDs who make sicko fetish videos via the surveillance cameras at the checkpoints. :td:

As the OP of this thread, let me reiterate that my question concerns what exactly these machines are doing and how. I have no qualms with more effective detection of explosives. But if I knew that I was being subjected to some possibly harmful force, xray, etc, I think I would object. I'm entitled to know what the machine is doing to me. Also, if this equipment entails some of the "Superman" technology I've read about in some beta tested TSA scanners, where they can see under your clothes and even see your "anatomy", then I would definately feel violated.

I'd take the shoe carnival any day over being electronically searched (and I still was asked to remove my shoes in FLL anyway). And I doubt they are only sniffing for explosives, likely other contraband as well.

The puffer line was moving at half the speed as the regular line. I was given no choice about which line I went through. A TSA officer directed my to the puffer without choice, my travelling partner was directed to the regular line. He was out and waiting for me for a while by the time I emerged.

So, if anybody has knowledge of what this thing is doing and can explain it, please post the information. Or maybe that is "classified" because of the war on terror? And why won't they tell you anything about the machine before you enter it?

The puffs of air dislodge microparticles from your person and your clothes. These microparticles are then analyzed and compared with known chemical entities such as plastic and more conventional explosives. Assuming you have none of these on your person and have not been in contact with such, you will get a green light to exit after about 10-15 sec in the puffer. There are no harmful x-rays or other scans of your person being performed.

These machines can be calibrated to detect narcotics. I am told that the machines in use by the TSA are not calibrated in this matter. If we see headlines of a drug bust at a security checkpoint, then we would know such a calibration is in place.

The GE EntryScan3 and IonScan Sentinel II are non-invasive, non-harmful ways of checking for explosives.

If FLL is telling you to de-shoe and use the puffer, then they are wasting your time. There is absolutely no need to de-shoe and you should file a very angry complaint indeed.

So for the last six months I have been putting on my face two different perscription sulphur-based acne treatment creams, (which have been working quite well) and I also know that sulphur is flammable and is used in matches, gunpowder, fireworks, etc., so if I go through one of these puffer machines and it dislodges microparticals from my skin, will I test postive because of all the sulphur I've been slathering on my face?

Very unlikely. While sulphur is used for those purposes, the more reactive component is sodium/potassium nitrate, in gunpowder and other conventional explosives. Its presence is more indicative of an explosive than elemental sulphur is.

Everyone exhales sulphur. It is one of the sources of halitosis. ;)

I'm heading through FLL twice this weekend and will report back as to my experiences. If I go through the portal I will absolutely refuse to remove my shoes.

^ ^

Complain if you get full secondary or even get ETD after the puffer!

"Also, if this equipment entails some of the "Superman" technology I've read about in some beta tested TSA scanners, where they can see under your clothes and even see your "anatomy", then I would definately feel violated."

Well... If that would be the case, then I'd mess with them (clip a bell on my nuts or something similar).

Kinda like if I was a celebrity and papparazzis would be hunting me, I'd do stupid stuff on purpose (i.e. wear a pink thong backwards with each nut hanging on each side). I'd make them stop taking photos of me by being extremelly obscene.

Rest assured that the puffer machines do not do any kind of passenger imaging.

Puffer machines can't do human imaging. It just takes samples of air and analyzes it.

Thanks Spiff for your clarification on what this machine does. I feel much better about it now. Seems like they should provide more information to PAX about what this machine does, perhaps a putting up a sign or poster or something. There was nothing and when I asked the attendent was simply told about air puffs (which I could already see and hear) and that "it won't hurt you in any way". Soon we'll likely all be used to these things and it will be a non issue. I assume they'll be deploying more and more of them.

Even if they did, I wouldn't care.

I'm picking the lesser of two evils... something a-la 9/11 sounds less attractive than dealing with TSA and their toys.

You certainly seem to know a lot about the uses of sodium/potassium nitrate (not to mention bad breath). Must be the academia in you. Still, just to be safe, I'm going to refer you to the TSA and make sure you end up on the no-fly list. I know it may make it a little inconvenient for you but, well, you know, anything for security...

Mike ;)

Yes, think of the children.

Other governments have rounded up so-called 'intellectuals' and dealt with them accordingly. Maybe that's not such a bad idea, eh? :)