Security Shortlines

TSA Launches Employee Screening Pilot Program The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is conducting 90-day employee screening pilots at seven U.S. airports as required by federal legislation that mandates examination of several types of employee screening in order to determine ways to enhance...

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TSA Launches Employee Screening Pilot Program

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is conducting 90-day employee screening pilots at seven U.S. airports as required by federal legislation that mandates examination of several types of employee screening in order to determine ways to enhance aviation security.

The pilots will include the following elements at each airport:

Boston's Logan International: 100 percent physical employee and vehicle screening at key airport perimeter entrances and select employee entrances from the public area to the secured/SIDA area; evaluation of biometric access control.

Jacksonville International (FL) and Craven Regional (NC): 100 percent physical screening at all employee and vehicle access points from the public area to the secured/SIDA area. This screening may occur at existing checkpoints or at ones set up specifically for the pilot.

Denver International, Kansas City International, Eugene (OR), and Southwest Oregon Regional: Increased random physical screening using Aviation Direct Access Screening Program (ADASP); behavior detection training provided to law enforcement officials and airport operations/security personnel; employee security awareness training; deployment of portable screening equipment; and evaluation of biometric access control (Denver only).

TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said after the pilots, we will work with Congress and our security partners to assess and implement our findings.

TSA currently deploys a layered approach to airport employee security that includes random screening, checkpoint screening for other groups of employees and "surge" inspections. Random screening ensures that at any time, airport employees may encounter security on the airport grounds.

In addition, TSA has made strides in improving the airport employee badging process. TSA requires all badged airport employees to complete a security threat assessment before a badge can be issued. Audits are underway at airport badging offices across the country to verify adherence to the measure.

TSA is required to report to Congress before Sept. 1, 2008 on the cost and effectiveness of the pilot programs at each airport.

New Cell-Based Sensors Sniff Out Danger Like Bloodhounds

University of Maryland engineers are collaborating across engineering disciplines to develop advanced "cell-based sensors-on-a-chip" technology.

These tiny sensors, only a few millimeters in size, could speed up and improve the detection of everything from explosive materials to biological pathogens to spoiled food or impure water.

Today's biochemical detectors are slow and produce an unacceptable number of false readings.

They are easily fooled because they often cannot distinguish subtle differences between deadly pathogens and harmless substances, and cannot fully monitor or interpret the different ways these substances interact with biological systems.

To solve this problem, the researchers are learning how to incorporate real cells into tiny micro-systems to detect chemical and biological pathogens.

Different cells can be grown on these microchips, depending on the task at hand. Like a bloodhound hot on the trail of a scent, a chip containing a collection of olfactory cells plus sensing circuits that can interpret their behavior could detect the presence of explosives.

The cells would show stress or die when exposed to certain pathogens, and the sensing circuits monitoring them would trigger a warning--more quickly and accurately than in present systems.

Current research funding for the cell-based sensor technology comes from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Intelligence Agency.