It's the last gasp for bomb-sensing 'puffers' at airports
WASHINGTON -- A $36 million anti-terrorism program designed to detect bombs on airline passengers by shooting air blasts to dislodge explosive particles is being scuttled because the machines proved unreliable at airports.
The "puffer" machines — glass portals that passengers enter for checkpoint screening — are being removed after the Transportation Security Administration spent $6.2 million on maintenance since 2005. Removing them will cost nearly $1 million, TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne said.
Problems emerged after the TSA bought 207 puffers for $30 million starting in 2004. Ninety-four were installed in 37 airports. The other 113 machines stayed in storage.
Dirt and humidity in airports led to frequent breakdowns, Payne said. The TSA has removed 60 puffers and will pull the rest but has no deadline. The puffers, costing $160,000 each, attempted to identify bomb residue on clothing. They were used as added screening on passengers who had gone through metal detectors.
Some of the machines had trouble detecting bombs, said Hasbrouck Miller, a vice president of puffer manufacturer Smiths Detection. "It was a torturous four years," Miller said, describing repair efforts. "The TSA finally got tired of pursuing that angle and moved on to something else."
As a replacement, the TSA is installing body scanners that create images of passengers through their clothing. The TSA plans to have 250 scanners next year, costing $170,000 each, its 2010 budget shows.
The puffers are the first screening equipment to be widely installed and removed, though other technology has been troubled.
For example, the Homeland Security Department removed a handful of advanced biological-weapons detectors from New York City transit hubs in March after the devices began failing, department spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said. Older, slower detectors remain in New York and about 30 other cities.
Also in March, the department launched a second effort to install sensors and cameras along the U.S.-Mexico border after an initial $600 million installation faced so many problems it was scrapped.
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