Photo Credit: hebedesign
If the growing list of new TSA rules hasn't already sent you checking bus and train schedules this latest announcement might do it. The TSA will now begin swabbing airline passengers hands for explosive residue. The swabbing which will at least for now be conducted at random is said to be able to detect even minute amounts of explosive related material.
We all remember the body scanner controversy which had civil liberties advocates in an uproar. This new addition to the already rigorous pre-flight security procedures brought surprisingly little resistance. Jay Stanley, an ACLU attorney says, the organization "always supported explosive detection as a good form of security that doesn't really invade privacy,"
Swabbing for materials deemed a security threat has been implemented on baggage and other surfaces for a while. This technique was generally applied to handles of bags and place likely to have trace contaminates from the hands. The new swabbing procedures will be implemented as an addition to and not in leu of existing techniques. CNN wrote an article on this and other new TSA rules that elaborates on their advantages and disadvantages for passengers.
