WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Transportation Security Administration is trying to smuggle mock explosive devices through security gates of all US airports every day in order to keep its personnel alert, officials said.
But citing a confidential report, USA Today newspaper noted Thursday that at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, screeners missed about 60 percent of hidden bomb materials that were packed in everyday carry-on bags.
Screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75 percent of simulated explosives and bomb parts that planted by TSA testers, according to the report.
TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley did not confirm or deny the findings of the report. But she told AFP Thursday that it was implementing an aggressive training campaign for its 43,000 agents, teaching them about the complexity of modern explosives.
The TSA is also drawing from the experience of baggage screeners at San Francisco International Airport who have been able to detect 80 percent of mock explosive devices.
Screeners are being tested every day at all 450 airports of the country, McCauley said.
"We've also changed our prohibited items list recently so that their focus won't be on things such as lighters and small scissors but rather on the explosive devices," the spokeswoman reminded. "We do see that to be our primary threat."
McCauley said an improvised explosive device can be "very complex," and the TSA wants to test screeners "in multiple situations."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
