Evidence uncovered by Electronic Privacy Information Center as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request showing that Transportation Security Administration may store body scan images is irrelevant, wrote TSA chief counsel in a letter to EPIC. The full body scanners are controversial with privacy advocates but one industry-funded survey found that most U.S. travelers don't mind the scans.

Body scanners, as deployed to airports, have their storage functions disabled by the manufacturer and operators cannot activate them, Kerner said. The body scanners are not networked and operators are prohibited from bringing recording devices into image viewing rooms, she added.

"When compared to the substantial risk presented by the threat of terrorist acts against aviation, the impact on individual privacy of AIT screening is minimal," she wrote.

Kerner wrote the letter in response to an April 21 petition by EPIC and 29 other organizations. Among their requests was a formal rulemaking process for the scanners, a step that Kerner wrote is unnecessary.

"TSA not only has ample, clear authority to install and operate [advanced imagine technology] machines for passenger screening at airports, but has been directed by the Congress to pursue screening technology solutions," she said.

Air travelers asked to give a body scan have the option of declining to do so, opting instead for an alternative measures such as use of a hand-held metal detector coupled with a pat down, Kerner added.

Kerner disputed assertions that body scanners cannot detect powdered explosives; EPIC has cited TSA procurement specifications requiring body scanners to detect liquid but not powdered material.

"It is unclear how you conclude that AIT cannot detect explosives in powder form. The TSA acquisition documents you cite to specify that AIT detects explosives, including liquids, solids, and powders," Kerner wrote.

TSA plans to install 450 scanners by the end of 2010 and requests funding  for an additional 500 scanners in fiscal 2011.

 For more:
- see Kerner's letter (.pdf)
- check out the EPIC April 21 petition (.pdf)
- see a 2009 Privacy Act assessment of AIT (.pdf)

Related Articles:
TSA awards CSC IT infrastructure contract
TSA tightens No Fly airline requirements
Airport body scanners okay with most U.S. travelers, says survey