A recent attempt of a terrorist attack on board a commercial airplane could lead to big companies for companies that make scanners for imaging the body, especially in the two companies with the technology already approved by the federal authorities.
President of the Transportation Security Administration, said Greg Soule RapiScan Systems in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and L-3 Communications Holdings, based in New York, she met “TSA technology standards, image scanners at airports.
Soule said new orders will be subject to tender. He said the X-ray body scanners cost between $ 130,000 and $ 170,000 each.
TSA has not said whether it will accelerate efforts to install the machines at airports beyond the projects already underway after authorities said a man tried to blow up a plane on Christmas Day.
Some security experts believe that this imaging technology could have found the explosives hidden under clothing.
RapiScan expects an increase in demand and is ready to extend the operation of the Mississippi, where the company needs, “said Peter Kant, executive vice president of government affairs throughout the world.
“We expect increased demand for some,” said Kant.
RapiScan is currently completing an order from the TSA placed before the attack of 150 scanners and the agency asked for information about the Company’s ability to increase production, “said Kant.
The 150 RapiScan devices were paid for by the recovery of federal funds, Soule said.
RapiScan build 60 cars a month, and Kant said the company could double its production, if necessary, and create jobs about 25 more in southern Mississippi.
TSA plans to buy 300 scanners in 2010, after a competitive bidding process.
L-3 announced in early December that the TSA has approved its product offering, which has about 40 planes at 19 airports. A spokeswoman for L-3 refers to the issues raised by the TSA.
Let L-3, RapiScan has been taken to ensure the privacy of passengers, was an obstacle for agents who want body scanners at every airport. And the recent terror alert could change attitudes and lead to demands for greater security, despite privacy concerns.
Kant said that machines RapiScan use of X-rays to create a body image that looks like a wetsuit, plaster and allows security officials to see if people try to smuggle the objects under clothing.
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