Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- A suspected terrorist’s attempt toblow up a U.S. airliner may override privacy concerns andintensify a push for full-body scanning equipment at airports.

U.S. officials charged a 23-year-old Nigerian man withtrying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 as it prepared to land inDetroit on Christmas Day. President Barack Obama said yesterdayhe ordered a thorough review of the episode and called for newscrutiny of screening policies and technologies.

Metal detectors currently used to screen passengerswouldn’t have found the explosive allegedly carried aboard bythe suspect, said former Federal Aviation Administrationsecurity chief Billie Vincent. Only more sophisticated devicessuch as low-level X-rays and millimeter-wave technology wouldwork, Vincent said.

Senator Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, calledfor more widespread use of the full-body scanners after theaborted attack. “We were very lucky this time but we may not beso lucky next time, which is why our defenses must bestrengthened,” Lieberman, chairman of the Senate HomelandSecurity and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statementyesterday.

The committee said it would hold a hearing next month onairline security and how the alleged terrorist got onto theplane.

Advanced Equipment

Companies such as OSI Systems Inc., Smiths Group Plc,Safran SA and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. may benefit fromany requirement that airports get more security equipment.London-based Smiths is the world’s biggest maker of airportscanners. Safran, based in Paris, is the world leader inbiometric technologies, such as fingerprint scanners. New York-based L-3 also makes scanners for airport use.

L-3 has “developed a more sophisticated system that couldprevent smuggling of almost anything on the body,” said HowardRubel, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., who has a “hold” ratingon the stock. “Speed and privacy issues have slowed itsintroduction.”

Jennifer Barton, a spokeswoman for New York-based L-3,didn’t respond to a phone call seeking comment.

L-3 rose $1.17, or 1.4 percent, to $86.80 in New York StockExchange composite trading yesterday. That was the highestclosing price since October 2008. OSI jumped $2.45, or 11percent, to $24.47 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Thepercentage gain was the biggest since Jan. 29.

OSI’s Rapiscan unit makes machines that can detect liquidsand other potential explosives beneath passengers’ clothing. InOctober, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration placedan order valued at $25 million for Rapiscan’s imaging equipment,the Hawthorne, California-based company said.

Expediting Delivery

“We are starting to implement and put them in at TSA’sdirection at U.S. airports,” Peter Kant, an executive vicepresident for Rapiscan, said yesterday in an interview. “We’vebeen on the phone a lot with TSA about how to expeditedelivery.”

The company has delivered about 40 machines so far to theagency, he said.

The Transportation Security Administration has been addinglow-level X-rays and millimeter-wave technology machines to findexplosives. There are millimeter-wave machines at 19 airports,the agency said on its Web site.

TSA recently announced the purchase of 150 Rapiscan unitswith some of its $1 billion in airport-security funds from the$787 billion economic stimulus package, said Greg Soule, asecurity administration spokesman.

The agency intends to purchase an additional 300 advancedimaging-technology units in 2010, Soule said.

Using the technology is voluntary for passengers, thesecurity administration said. Those who do not wish to receivemillimeter wave screening will undergo metal detector screeningand a pat-down, according to the agency.

Privacy Issues

Full-body imaging has been criticized by some advocacygroups as an invasion of privacy. Kant said his company hasmitigated that concern by blurring body images and havingtechnicians viewing the images in a different location from thescreening equipment.

“There have been privacy concerns expressed about the useof these whole body-imaging devices, but I think those privacyconcerns, which are, frankly, mild, have to fall in the face ofthe ability of these machines to detect material like this,”Lieberman said on “Fox News Sunday” on Dec. 27.

Using technology for every threat may cost more and reducerisk less than measures such as increasing visa reviews in“high-risk” countries, said David Schanzer, director of theTriangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at DukeUniversity and the University of North Carolina.

“Every time we have an episode, we should not rush tojudgment and spend billions of dollars deploying the newfangledtechnology that will meet a very narrow sliver of the threat,”said Schanzer. “That’s not a satisfying response thatpoliticians can make. Politicians feel an urgent need to respondto the threats today.”

To contact the reporter on this story:Angela Greiling Keane in Washington at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 29, 2009 00:00 EST

Original Source - http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a4fzip9qPK44