Full body scanners unreliable to use, Germany says
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Photographer: WXYZ
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 09/02/2011
The German government has stopped the roll out of full body scanners in the country's airports. It says they simply create too many false alarms.
After a series of tests, German officials say the new scanners have a false alarm rate of nearly 50 percent, including mistaking underarm sweats for a dangerous chemical.
About 250 full body scanners are currently in use at dozens of U.S. airports including Detroit Metro. They cost about $170 thousand a piece.
Folks who have protested the scanners due to privacy concerns about the detailed images they provide say this is evidence they should not be used.
"The German experience has demonstrated exactly how ineffective the devices are. When they can't distinguish between body sweat and explosives, or the pleats of someone's pants and an underwear bomb- they're not making anyone safer," said John Verdi of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The TSA tells ABC News it will not comment on Germany's decision or study of the scanners.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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