Metro passengers in Los Angeles will soon be screened with TSA technology that will help officials detect explosives like suicide vests, officials said Wednesday. The announcement comes just two days after a man detonated a pipe bomb in a New York City subway station in an attempted terror attack.
A three-day test of the devices started Tuesday at one of Los Angeles' busiest transit hubs, the 7th Street Metro Station downtown. The short-term demonstration is a preview for a 2018 rollout that will bring the devices to more stations across America's second most-populous city.
"TSA is kind of like a laboratory that helps identify technology that transit agencies can use," Dave Sotero, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, told Newsweek. "We're constantly looking for new technology to apply to our system, and this is one that has potential to improve safety."
The devices, known as stand-off explosive detection units, are meant to detect hidden explosives through a full-body screening of passengers entering the station. If the device spots an improvised explosive, metallic or non-metallic, that blocks the natural emissions that should come from a person's body, it triggers an alarm.
The technology does not emit radiation, and doesn't expose any anatomical details of the people passing through, officials said. Rather, the operator will see a camera image of the passenger. The LAMTA employees will be trained by TSA to properly use the devices, according to Sotero, and will operate them independently without the help of federal agents once the pilot program is completed.
"Along with industry partners, we are committed to identifying, testing and deploying technology that addresses threats to transportation across the spectrum," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a statement. "We need to innovate and evolve faster than the adversary, and more importantly, deploy technology ahead of the threat-curve," he added.
The technology has been used outside of airports before, at big events such as the Super Bowl. Using the devices in transit systems, however, is in direct response to some of the recent incidents that have injured or killed passengers using public transportation.
The New York City attacker on Monday injured himself and three travelers during the morning commute with a crude homemade pipe bomb that was strapped to his chest. Officials said the explosion was a failed attempt at a suicide attack inspired by the Islamic State militant group. New York City has not announced plans to use technology similar to what Los Angeles is testing.
TSA has worked with transit system officials in New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco in the past. TSA officials told Newsweek it is working with transit agencies in other cities to perform similar tests on their systems.
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About the writer
Summer Meza is a journalist from Seattle, Washington. She attended Santa Clara University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
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