Fwd: Metal detectors at airports

[Chris Alston <alstonc@odrge.odr.georgetown.edu>]

>From: Rob Morrison <robpm@IX.NETCOM.COM>
>
>
>These questions have really fueled the fire in a constant complaint of 
>mine. I travel often via plane and have traveled through many an airport 
>in the states, both large and small as well as crossing the border at many 
>different places via plane between Canada and the US as well as going 
>through many airports in Europe. I have done it now for over 15 years and 
>on an occasional basis for over 20 years. I am sure that many of you who 
>are reading this could give similar experiences. I also have the added 
>experience of bringing many different types of x-ray analyzing devices 
>through the fluoro units as well. This can always be interesting!
>
>In the medical physics industry as well as many other industries we desire 
>to have standards that everyone would meet. However I do not believe that 
>the airports who own and have put in place the metal detectors and the 
>x-ray units or the people who operate them or the people who oversee the 
>equipment and the people who operate them have any standards in place. 
>Whether there is a federal guide line I cannot say.
>
>First I would like to state that the most of the people who operate them 
>do not always come across as the most highly intelligent or the most 
>knowledgeable in their profession. Before you jump down my throat for 
>making some type of prejudicial slur hear me out. First off I do not pride 
>myself in being a politically correct type of individual. When reality is 
>reality then I state the fact. Yes I do believe that there are 
>stereotypes. I look at one every day in the mirror.
>
>My experience regarding the US has been that at larger airports the 
>sensitivity of the metal detectors to any type of metal is lower than at 
>smaller airports. As Carl Landis stated in an earlier email :
>
>I remember back several years ago flying between the U.S. and Canada 
>during a period of high alert.  I had a sheet of blister-packed throat 
>lozenges in my shirt pocket that set off the alarm.  At least I passed 
>through successfully when I removed them.  I thought they were made of Al.
>
>I have had problems with the metal foil around candy such as a life saver 
>being detected. I have not had this problem in large airports like Newark, 
>JFK, LA, Dallas, Chicago etc. but typically in podunk, timbukto. It tends 
>to be older people who operate these machines in the podunk airports and I 
>think that they may pride themselves in keeping a tite ship etc. where as 
>in the larger cities they realize that they have masses of people to move 
>and they do not make them quite as sensitive. I have gone through metal 
>detectors at Newark with my normal size swiss army pocket knife in my 
>pocket without it sending off the alarm before. I believe that that has 
>changed recently. I have been through border airports in Canada where my 
>Rockport casual dress shoes have set off the metal detector because the 
>arches have some sort of metal in them. This can happen with belt buckles, 
>pens etc. I am sure it can happen with things like pacemakers as well. I 
>do not believe that there is any standard out there. It is what ever the 
>airport people want to set them at. This is probably why some people have 
>had problems with the implants and others have not. I am not sure what is 
>in the seeds but obviously there is something that causes them to go off 
>but I believe it comes down to how sensitive they set the detectors at. 
>Each airport is a law in and of itself.


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