Naked Images Make Airport Body Scanners Controversial

ORLANDO -- New security measures are on the way to Orlando International Airport.

The federal government has announced it is buying 1,000 full body scanners at airports around the country. It is all in response to the attempted bombing of a jet Christmas Day.

The decision is a controversial one because critics say the scanners create a naked image of the human body to check for weapons -- definitely a concern for privacy advocates.

There are already about 40 scanners in use at 19 airports across the country. In Florida, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville all currently use body scanners.

Advocates say privacy issues are unfounded because on the scan, the person's face is obscured and the people examining the scan are in a separate room and never see the people being scanned.

Scanners In Use By TSA

Backscatter uses a narrow, low-intensity X-ray beam scanned over the body's surface at a hight speed that is reflected back from the body and other objects placed or carried on the body. The X-Ray dose is equivalent to the radiation received in two minutes of airplane flight.

The other is a millimeter wave imaging system uses non-iodizing radio frequency energy in the millimeter wave spectrum to generate an image based on the energy reflected from the body. The energy projected is 100,000 less than a cell phone transmission.

They both create naked images that officials feel would have detected the device hidden in the Christmas Day bomber's underwear.

The U.S. government is poised to spend about $734 million on 1,000 scanners nationwide, including here in Orlando. They could arrive by late 2011.

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