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Airport Screener

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Airport security personnel are faced with the daunting task of keeping dangerous items off commercial airplanes. They must make split-second decisions that can impact the lives of every person on every flight. Do you have what it takes to do their job? If so, get ready to take off on your challenge of being an airport screener.

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What are some of the prohibited items not allowed in commercial airlines' carry-on luggage?

Some prohibited items of carry-on luggage include ammunition, explosives, flammable liquids, and chemicals. These items are prohibited to keep passengers safe and minimize the danger of an explosion on the plane. Less dangerous items like snow globes, gel candles, and food like maple syrup or salsa can also be banned from carry-on luggage.

Why is the size of liquid containers on flights limited?

Liquid containers can only be contained in a 3.4 ounce (100mL) bottle or less. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) limits the size because in 2006 there was a terrorist plot to use liquid explosives in a bomb to blow up a plane. By limiting the amount of liquids, the risk of terrorists using a liquid explosive is reduced greatly.

What are some non-technological ways prohibited items are detected?

Some non-technological ways that prohibited items are detected are body searches, pat downs and sniffer dogs. Pat downs search for weapons stored on the body. Detection dogs are used to detect not only explosives, but also illegal drugs, firearms, or even blood. Their keen sense of smell can be trained to detect many substances.

What are some technological tools used to detect prohibited items?

Some technological tools used in detecting prohibited items include biometrics, metal detectors, and X-ray machines. Biometrics use physical traits to identify people. For example, airports check fingerprints, retina scans, and facial patterns and compare them to those of known terrorists. After biometrics, anybody who boards a plane must pass through a metal detector. Metal detectors are used to detect weapons by finding metal located on the body. Before walking through the metal detector, a person has to remove all their personal items, including their shoes, cell phones, and watches and have them scanned through an X-ray machine. While the person walks through the metal detector, their belongings are going through the X-ray machine. The machine emits X-rays and different materials absorb the rays at different levels. A detector compares materials that absorb high amounts of X-ray to those that absorb low amounts of X-ray and can identify items as organic, inorganic, and metal. A TSA agent monitors what is going through the machine by watching a monitor that shows a picture of everything that is moving through the machine. If the agent sees anything that is prohibited in carry-on luggage, he or she reports the bag. This image shows an X-ray of a bag. Organic materials, which are commonly used in explosives, are shaded orange.

							
								X ray image of a bag. Shaded in green, a pair of headphones, a cord, a razor, and other objects are discernible. Several objects have orange areas shaded.

How safe are the technological tools used to detect prohibited items?

All the technological tools used for detection are safe. The safety of passengers is the number one priority of the TSA. Biometrics is non-invasive and usually only consist of scanning a fingerprint or taking a picture of your face. Metal detectors use low-frequency electromagnetic fields at a very low level which is safe for everyone. X-ray machines are more dangerous because of the emission of X-rays, so the body is not X-rayed, just personal belongings.

Here are some definitions to help you in your Grade 3-5 Lesson 1 investigation.

Screen - to view things to see if they are safe or dangerous
Prohibited - things that are not allowed by law
Permitted - things that are allowed by law
Scanner - a device that uses X-rays to see inside packages or luggage
Solid - one of the basic forms of matter. Solids have a set shape and volume.
Liquid - one of the basic forms of matter. Liquids have a set volume but take on the shape of a container. Liquids do not fill any space completely.
Gas - one of the basic forms of matter. Gases do not have a set volume. Gases take on the shape of a container. Gases do fill any space completely.
Energy - the ability to do work
Light - a type of low energy radiation that can be seen by people. Light cannot pass through most solid objects.
X-rays - a type of high energy radiation that can pass through many things, including some solid objects. This allows people to see certain things on the inside of other things.

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