Louisville, Lexington Airports Install New Security Scanners Soon

The Transportation Security Administration is installing new security scanners at several airports around the country in the upcoming weeks including the Louisville and Lexington airports.Nearly 140 airports have already made the switch to one of two scanner types in the last few years. Both devices scan the entire body but only one displays a complete image of passengers' bodies, said TSA spokesman Jim Fotenofs.The scanners being installed in Louisville and Lexington will display the same body image for every passenger, which should eliminate privacy concerns from travelers, said Fotenofs.“The millimeter wave technology that is coming to Louisville and Lexington does not use a passenger specific image," he said. "There is a small red box that is displayed on this generic image. And it gives our officers the exact location of where an item may be.”The new scanners will detect not just metal, but any object like plastics, liquids, or powders which could potentially be used as explosive components, said Fotenofs. The scanners will be used in conjunction with the current metal detectors if the security line backs up.The new scanners use harmless radio ways that bounce of the passenger to look for inconsistencies and says the exposure is about 10,000 times less than a cell phone, he said.