[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11364-11405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04374]



[[Page 11363]]

Vol. 81

Thursday,

No. 42

March 3, 2016

Part II





 Department of Homeland Security





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Transportation Security Administration





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49 CFR Part 1540





 Passenger Screening Using Advanced Imaging Technology; Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2016 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 11364]]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

49 CFR Part 1540

[Docket No. TSA-2013-0004]
RIN 1652-AA67


Passenger Screening Using Advanced Imaging Technology

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is amending 
its civil aviation security regulations to specify that TSA may use 
advanced imaging technology (AIT) to screen individuals at security 
screening checkpoints. This rule is issued to comply with a decision of 
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which 
ordered TSA to engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking on the use of 
AIT for passenger screening.

DATES: Effective May 2, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chawanna Carrington, Acting Passenger 
Screening Program Portfolio Section Lead-Checkpoint Solutions and 
Integration Division, Office of Security Capabilities--Transportation 
Security Administration, [email protected], 571-227-2958 (phone), 
571-227-1931 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Rulemaking Document

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
    (1) Searching the electronic Federal Docket Management System 
(FDMS) Web page at http://www.regulations.gov; or
    (2) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR to view 
the daily published Federal Register edition; or accessing the ``Search 
the Federal Register by Citation'' in the ``Related Resources'' column 
on the left, if you need to do a Simple or Advanced search for 
information, such as a type of document that crosses multiple agencies 
or dates.
    In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the 
individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Make sure to 
identify the docket number of this rulemaking.

Small Entity Inquiries

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 
1996 requires TSA to comply with small entity requests for information 
and advice about compliance with statutes and regulations within TSA's 
jurisdiction. Any small entity that has a question regarding this 
document may contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section. Persons can obtain further information regarding 
SBREFA on the Small Business Administration's Web page at https://www.sba.gov/category/advocacy-navigation-structure/regulatory-policy/regulatory-flexibility-act/sbrefa.

Abbreviations and Terms Used in This Document

AIT Advanced Imaging Technology
ANSI American National Standards Institute
APA Administrative Procedure Act
ATR Automatic Target Recognition
ATSA Aviation and Transportation Security Act
CAPPS Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
CDRH Center for Devices and Radiological Health
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
DOJ Department of Justice
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid
EAJA Equal Access to Justice Act
E.O. Executive Order
ETD Explosives Trace Detection Devices
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FDA Food and Drug Administration
FR Federal Register
GAO Government Accountability Office
HPS Health Physics Society
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
IEEE International Electronic and Electrical Engineers
IRFA Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
LCCE Life Cycle Cost Estimate
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
OCRL/OTE Office of Civil Rights and Liberties, Ombudsman and 
Traveler Engagement
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OSC Office of Security Capabilities
PIA Privacy Impact Assessment
PMIS Performance Management Information System
PMO Program Management Office
PRA Paperwork Reduction Act
RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1996
RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis
SAM Screener Allocation Model
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
SSI Sensitive Security Information
THz Terahertz
TSA Transportation Security Administration
TSL Transportation Security Laboratory
TSO Transportation Security Officer
UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
U.S.C. United States Code
WTMD Walk Through Metal Detector

Table of Contents

I. Background
    A. Summary of the Final Rule
    B. Purpose of the Final Rule
    C. Costs and Benefits
    D. Changes From the NPRM
II. Public Comments on the NPRM and TSA Responses
    A. Summary
    B. Support for AIT
    C. Opposition to AIT
    D. TSA Authority To Use AIT
    E. Congressional Directive To Deploy AIT
    F. Compliance With the Administrative Procedure Act
    G. Adherence to the Court's Decision in EPIC v. DHS
    H. Fourth Amendment Issues
    I. Other Legal Issues
    J. Evolving Threats to Security
    K. TSA's Layers of Security
    L. Effectiveness of AIT Screening
    M. Screening Measures Used in Other Countries
    N. Laboratory and Operational Testing of AIT Equipment
    O. Radiation Exposure
    P. Other Health and Safety Issues
    Q. Backscatter Technology
    R. Millimeter Wave Technology
    S. Concerns Regarding Privacy
    T. Use of ATR Software
    U. Protection of Images
    V. Conducting a Pat-Down as an Alternative to AIT
    W. AIT Screening Procedures at the Checkpoint
    X. AIT Screening Procedures for Families and Individuals With 
Medical Issues
    Y. Comments on the Proposed Regulatory Text
    Z. Costs of the Proposed Rule
    AA. Passenger Opportunity Costs
    BB. Airport Utility Costs
    CC. TSA Costs
    DD. Other Costs
    EE. Benefits of the Proposed Rule
    FF. Other Impacts of the Proposed Rule
    GG. Regulatory Alternatives
    HH. Comparative Analysis Between AIT and Alternatives
    II. Other Comments on the Regulatory Impact Analysis
    JJ. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses
    KK. Other Regulatory Analyses
    LL. Comments on the Risk Analysis
    MM. Other Comments on the NPRM
III. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
    A. International Compatibility
    B. Economic Impact Analyses
    1. Regulatory Impact Analysis Summary
    2. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 Assessments
    3. Regulatory Flexibility Act Assessment
    4. International Trade Impact Assessment
    5. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Assessment
    C. Paperwork Reduction Act
    D. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
    E. Environmental Analysis
    F. Energy Impact Analysis

I. Background

A. Summary of the Final Rule

    Congress has charged the Transportation Security Administration 
(TSA), a component of the U.S.

[[Page 11365]]

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with responsibility for civil 
aviation security, 49 U.S.C. 114(d), including combatting the threat 
posed by al Qaeda and other terrorists. The Administrator of TSA must 
``assess current and potential threats to the domestic air 
transportation system'' and take ``necessary actions to improve 
domestic air transportation security,'' including by providing for 
``the screening of all passengers and property'' before boarding an 
aircraft to ensure that no passenger is ``carrying unlawfully a 
dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance.'' See 49 
U.S.C. 44904(a) and (e); 44901(a); 44902(a)(1).
    By Federal regulation, ``[n]o individual may enter a sterile area 
or board an aircraft without submitting to the screening and inspection 
of his or her person and accessible property in accordance with the 
procedures being applied to control access to that area or aircraft. . 
. .'' 49 CFR 1540.107(a). The final rule amends this regulation to 
specify that the screening and inspection of a person may include the 
use of advanced imaging technology (AIT).
    Congress has directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to ``give 
a high priority to developing, testing, improving, and deploying, at 
airport screening checkpoints, equipment that detects nonmetallic, 
chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, and explosives.'' 49 
U.S.C. 44925(a).\1\ In June 2008, the Senate Appropriations Committee 
encouraged TSA to expand the use of AIT.\2\ TSA began deploying AIT in 
2008 after laboratory and operational testing.
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    \1\ See also Presidential Memorandum Regarding 12/25/2009 
Attempted Terrorist Attack'' (Jan. 7, 2010), available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-regarding-12252009-attempted-terrorist-attack (charging DHS with 
aggressively pursuing enhanced screening technology in order to 
prevent further such attempts while at the same time protecting 
passenger privacy).
    \2\ S. Rep. No. 110-396, at 60 (2008).
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    The AIT currently deployed by TSA is a millimeter wave imaging 
technology that can detect metallic and non-metallic objects on an 
individual's body or concealed in his clothing without physical 
contact. The technology bounces electromagnetic waves off the body to 
detect anomalies. If an anomaly is detected, a pat-down of the area 
where the anomaly is located is usually performed to determine if a 
threat is present.
    AIT addresses a critical weakness in aviation security regarding 
the inability of walk-through metal detectors (WTMDs) to screen for 
non-metallic explosives and other non-metallic threat items. AIT 
provides detection capability for weapons, explosives, and other 
objects concealed under a person's clothing that may not trigger a 
metal detector. TSA has determined that use of AIT is the most 
effective technology currently available to detect both metallic and 
non-metallic threat items concealed on passengers, such as the non-
metallic explosive used by the so-called ``Christmas Day bomber'' in 
2009 in his attempt to blow up an American passenger aircraft.
    AIT is an essential component of TSA's risk-based security 
approach. This approach relies on a comprehensive security system 
including state-of-the-art technologies (such as AIT), a highly-trained 
frontline workforce, intelligence analysis and information sharing, 
behavior detection, explosives detection canine teams, Federal Air 
Marshals (FAMS), and regulatory enforcement.
    In 2012, Congress enacted the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 
2012, Public Law 112-95, which required TSA to ensure that all AIT used 
to screen passengers must be equipped with and employ automatic target 
recognition (ATR) software. 49 U.S.C. 44901(l). That software 
eliminates passenger-specific (i.e., individual) images and instead 
indicates the location of potential threats on a generic outline. Since 
May 2013, all AIT units deployed by TSA have been equipped with ATR 
capability. The final rule adopts the statutory definitions of AIT and 
ATR, and requires that any AIT equipment used to screen passengers be 
equipped with and employs ATR software.
    There are approximately 793 AIT machines deployed at nearly 157 
airports nationwide. AIT screening is safe for all passengers and the 
technology meets all national health and safety standards. Passengers 
generally may decline AIT screening and opt instead for a pat-down.

B. Purpose of the Final Rule

    The final rule is adopted to comply with a ruling of the United 
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) v. U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, 653 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2011), the court directed TSA 
to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking on the use of AIT to screen 
passengers. TSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on 
March 26, 2013, to obtain public comment on its proposal to revise 
civil aviation security regulations to codify that TSA may use AIT for 
passenger screening. 78 FR 18287. The final rule defines AIT, states 
that AIT may be used to screen passengers, and requires that AIT be 
equipped with and employ the use of ATR software.

C. Costs and Benefits

    When estimating the cost of a rulemaking, agencies typically 
estimate future expected costs imposed by a regulation over a period of 
analysis. As the AIT unit life cycle is 10 years from deployment to 
disposal, the period of analysis for estimating the cost of the rule is 
10 years. TSA has revised the NPRM Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) 
assumption of an 8-year life cycle for AIT units to 10 years based on a 
recent life cycle cost estimate (LCCE) report.\3\ AIT deployment began 
in 2008 and TSA, therefore, includes costs that have already been borne 
by TSA, the traveling public, the screening systems industry, and 
airports. Consequently, this RIA takes into account costs that have 
already occurred--in years 2008-2014--in addition to the projected 
costs in years 2015 \4\-2017. By reporting the costs that have already 
occurred and estimating future costs in this manner, TSA accounts for 
the full life cycle of AIT machines.
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    \3\ TSA's Office of Security Capabilities (OSC), ``Life Cycle 
Cost Estimate for Passenger Screening Program,'' March 10, 2014. 
This is a TSA acquisition sensitive report based on OSC technology 
assessments.
    \4\ The 2015 cost estimates used historical data when available. 
Please see the RIA for the complete description of the 2015 cost 
estimates.
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    TSA estimates the total cost of the rule from 2008-2017 to be 
$2,146.31 million (undiscounted). TSA incurs over 98 percent of all 
costs.
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    \5\ Metal detectors and AITs are both designed to detect 
metallic threats on passengers, but do so in different ways. Metal 
detectors rely on the inductance that is generated by the metal, 
while AIT relies on the metal's reflectivity properties to indicate 
an anomaly. AIT detection capabilities exceed that of metal 
detectors because AIT can detect metallic and non-metallic weapons, 
non-metallic bulk explosives, and non-metallic liquid explosives.
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    AIT generates benefits by reducing security risks because it is 
capable of detecting both metallic and non-metallic weapons and 
explosives.\5\ Terrorists continue to test our security measures in an 
attempt to find and exploit vulnerabilities. The threat to aviation 
security has evolved to include the use of non-metallic explosives. 
Since it began using AIT, TSA has been able to detect many kinds of 
non-metallic items, small items, and items concealed on parts of the 
body that would not have been detected using the WTMD. TSA also 
considered the added benefit of deterrence--the effect of would-be

[[Page 11366]]

attackers becoming discouraged because of increased security measures--
from the use of AIT. Morral and Jackson (2009) stated, ``Deterrence is 
also a major factor in the cost-effectiveness of many security 
programs. For instance, even if a radiation-detection system at ports 
never actually encounters weapon material, if it deters would-be 
attackers from trying to smuggle such material into the country, it 
could easily be cost-effective even if associated program costs are 
very high.'' \6\ Given the demonstrated ability of AIT to detect 
concealed metallic and non-metallic objects, it is reasonable to assume 
that AIT acts as a deterrent to attacks involving the smuggling of a 
metallic or non-metallic weapon or explosive on board a commercial 
airplane. As an essential component in TSA's comprehensive security 
system because it can detect both non-metallic and metallic threats 
concealed under a person's clothing, AIT plays a vital role in 
decreasing the vulnerability of civil aviation to a terrorist attack.
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    \6\ Andrew R. Morral, Brian A. Jackson, ``Understanding the Role 
of Deterrence in Counterterrorism Security,'' 2009, Rand Homeland 
Security Program, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP281.pdf.
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    To describe further the security benefits from AIT, TSA performed a 
break-even analysis to compare the potential direct costs of an averted 
terrorist attack to the net cost of AIT. Agencies use a break-even 
analysis when quantification of benefits is not possible. According to 
OMB Circular No. A-4, ``Regulatory Analysis,'' such an analysis answers 
the question, ``How small could the value of the non-quantified 
benefits be (or how large would the value of the nonquantified costs 
need to be) before the rule would yield zero net benefits?'' \7\ Based 
upon the results from the break-even analysis, TSA estimates that AIT 
will need to prevent an attack between once every 5.25 years to once 
every 23.5 years--depending on the size of the aircraft--for the direct 
cost of an averted attack to equal the annualized cost of AIT. The 
break-even analysis does not include the difficult to quantify indirect 
costs of an attack or the macroeconomic impacts that could occur due to 
a major attack. See Section III of this preamble for more detailed 
results of the economic analyses.
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    \7\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a004_a-4/.
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D. Changes From the NPRM

    In the NPRM, TSA proposed to amend 49 CFR 1540.107 by adding a new 
paragraph to specify that the screening and inspection of an individual 
prior to entering a sterile area of an airport or boarding an aircraft 
may include the use of AIT. TSA defined AIT as ``screening technology 
used to detect concealed anomalies without requiring physical contact 
with the individual being screened.'' TSA received many comments 
stating that the definition was too broad. Commenters also expressed 
confusion and uncertainty regarding the use of the word ``anomalies.'' 
Some commenters suggested privacy safeguards be included in the final 
rule.
    In response to those comments, TSA changed the definition in the 
final rule. TSA is adopting the definition of AIT created by Congress 
in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.\8\ That legislation, 
codified at 49 U.S.C. 44901(l), defines AIT as ``a device used in the 
screening of passengers that creates a visual image of an individual 
showing the surface of the skin and revealing other objects on the 
body; and may include devices using backscatter x-rays or millimeter 
waves and devices referred to as `whole-body imaging technology' or 
`body scanning machines'.'' Further, in response to privacy concerns, 
TSA is adopting the statutory language that requires any AIT used for 
passenger screening to be equipped with and employ ATR software and 
comply with such other requirements TSA determines are necessary to 
address privacy considerations. Finally, consistent with the statute, 
TSA is defining ATR as, ``software installed on an advanced imaging 
technology device that produces a generic image of the individual being 
screened that is the same as the images produced for all other screened 
individuals.''
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    \8\ Public Law 112-95 (126 Stat. 11, Feb. 14, 2012).
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    In response to public comments, TSA also revised the RIA published 
with the NPRM to include a break-even analysis and pertinent data that 
has become available since the publication of the NPRM, including an 
updated AIT deployment schedule. TSA's major changes to the RIA from 
the NPRM are:
     Revising the airport listings to include 460 airports 
instead of 448. The updated airport list includes new, previous, and 
former airports that operated AIT units and are regulated under 49 CFR 
part 1542.
     Updating the AIT life cycle and period of analysis from 8 
to 10 years based on a recent LCCE report from the TSA Office of 
Security Capabilities (OSC). Using the information from this report, 
TSA also revised its previous assumption about the share of Passenger 
Screening Program expenditures spent on AIT technology.
     Revising the number of AIT units to be deployed from 821 
to 793 throughout the period of analysis (2008-2017) based on new data.
     Revising the total wait time for a passenger that opts-out 
of AIT screening from 80 to 150 seconds to include passenger time spent 
waiting for a same gender Transportation Security Officer (TSO) to 
perform the pat-down.
     Revising the calculation of utilities costs to incorporate 
new data on the hours of AIT operation from the TSA's Performance 
Management Information System (PMIS) database.
     Refining the calculation of personnel costs by using 
information on specific labor hours dedicated to AIT operation in 
response to new data on hours of AIT operation.
     Revising the calculation of training costs to incorporate 
newly available historical data on the hours of participation for each 
training course required for AIT operation and new training and 
development costs.
     Including a break-even analysis to answer the question, 
``How small could the value of the non-quantified benefits be (or how 
large would the value of the non-quantified costs need to be) before 
the rule would yield zero net benefits?''
     Revising language within the RIA and final rule to state 
that passengers ``may generally opt-out of AIT screening'' to reflect 
current DHS policy.\9\

    \9\ See Privacy Impact Assessment Update for TSA Advanced 
Imaging Technology (DHS/TSA/PIA-032(d)) December 18, 2015, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-tsa-pia-32-d-ait.pdf.
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Table 1 presents a summary of the effects of these changes. In the 
table, NPRM and final rule costs have been annualized due to the 
different periods of analysis.

[[Page 11367]]



                        Table 1--Changes in AIT Estimates From the NPRM to the Final Rule
                               [Annualized at a 7% discount rate in 2014 dollars]
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                                                    NPRM and FR comparison
               Variables               ------------------------------------------------  Description of changes
                                             NPRM         Final rule      Difference
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                                      Annualized Industry Costs ($millions)
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Airport Utilities Cost................           $0.19           $0.15          -$0.04  This estimate decreased
                                                                                         due to incorporation of
                                                                                         newly available
                                                                                         historical data on AIT
                                                                                         hours of operation from
                                                                                         the TSA's PMIS
                                                                                         database.
Backscatter AIT Removal...............            0.21            0.18           -0.03  Total cost in constant
                                                                                         dollars remained the
                                                                                         same, but annualized
                                                                                         cost decreased because
                                                                                         of the different
                                                                                         periods of analysis
                                                                                         between NPRM and final
                                                                                         rule.
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                                     Annualized Passenger Costs ($millions)
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Opportunity Costs (Delay Costs).......            2.08            2.60            0.52  This estimate increased
                                                                                         because the estimated
                                                                                         duration of a pat-down
                                                                                         increased from 80 to
                                                                                         150 seconds to include
                                                                                         passenger wait time to
                                                                                         be handed off to a same
                                                                                         gender TSO.
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                                        Annualized TSA Costs ($millions)
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Personnel.............................          216.40          117.17          -99.22  TSA refined this
                                                                                         estimate to account for
                                                                                         labor hours dedicated
                                                                                         to AIT operation. TSA
                                                                                         used AIT operational
                                                                                         hours recorded in PMIS
                                                                                         as a basis for this
                                                                                         estimate.
Training..............................            5.81           27.68           21.87  TSA revised the
                                                                                         calculation of training
                                                                                         costs to incorporate
                                                                                         newly available
                                                                                         historical data on the
                                                                                         hours of participation
                                                                                         for each training
                                                                                         course required for AIT
                                                                                         operation and new
                                                                                         training and
                                                                                         development costs.
Equipment.............................           70.62           56.53          -14.08  TSA revised its cost
                                                                                         estimates in 2014-2017
                                                                                         to reflect the most
                                                                                         recent LCCE document by
                                                                                         OSC. TSA also revised
                                                                                         some assumptions for
                                                                                         cost estimates from
                                                                                         2008-2013 based on the
                                                                                         recent LCCE.
TSA Utilities Cost....................            0.25            0.26            0.01  This change reflects the
                                                                                         revised estimate on AIT
                                                                                         operation time and an
                                                                                         increase of airport
                                                                                         enrollment in TSAs
                                                                                         utilities reimbursement
                                                                                         program.
                                       ------------------------------------------------
    Total Costs.......................     \10\ 295.56          204.57          -90.99  The total cost decreased
                                                                                         from the NPRM,
                                                                                         primarily from the
                                                                                         reduction in personnel
                                                                                         costs.
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                                                    Benefits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Break-Even Analysis...................  Prevent 1 attack per 5.25 to 23.52 years        Per public comment, TSA
                                        considering only the major direct costs of an    has included a break-
                                        averted attack.                                  even analysis in the
                                                                                         RIA.
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II. Public Comments on the NPRM and TSA Responses

A. Summary

    TSA published the NPRM on March 26, 2013, and requested comments be 
submitted by June 24, 2013. Private citizens, industry associations, 
advocacy groups, and non-profit organizations submitted comments in 
docket TSA 2013-0004. The discussion below groups the submissions by 
the primary issues raised in the public comments.
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    \10\ There was a calculation error in the NPRM's presentation of 
annualized costs. TSA has resolved this error and presented the 
correct annualized amounts in Table 1. The error in annualized cost 
did not affect any other cost estimates in the NPRM, including the 
estimated total cost of the rule and the estimated itemized costs 
presented in the NPRM.
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B. Support for AIT

    Comments: A number of submissions included a statement of general 
support for the continued use of AIT without offering additional, 
substantive rationale. Commenters also expressed approval for AIT for a 
variety of reasons. Several individual commenters stated they have 
medical conditions (e.g., metallic implants, metallic artificial 
joints, and prostheses) which cause them to alarm the WTMD, and they 
prefer the ease and quickness of AIT to the pat-down procedure, which 
would be required to resolve an alarm of the WTMD. Several other 
commenters noted that the need to ensure the safety of airline 
passengers and other American targets against terrorist threats 
outweighs possible privacy concerns associated with AIT. In supporting 
AIT use, many commenters referenced the terrorist attacks on September 
11, 2001. Individual commenters also stated they did not have any 
concerns related to the use of AIT. In response to other public 
comments opposed to AIT, several individual commenters questioned the 
significance of the alleged impact of AIT on privacy or safety. Several 
individual commenters also expressed a preference for AIT over a pat-
down.
    TSA Response: TSA agrees with these commenters that AIT provides 
the most effective and least intrusive means currently available to 
detect both metallic and non-metallic threats concealed under a 
person's clothing.

C. Opposition to AIT

    Comments: Many submissions included statements of opposition to the 
continued use of AIT. Of these, individual commenters expressed 
concerns pertaining to efficacy, privacy,

[[Page 11368]]

health, cost, and civil liberties. TSA addresses each of these topics 
in subsequent comment responses in this preamble. Some individual 
commenters also expressed criticism of TSA and its staff. Some comments 
included statements requesting the elimination of AIT.
    Other commenters made statements regarding the impact of AIT 
screening on their travel choices. Many of these commenters indicated 
they no longer travel by air because of the use of AIT. Some said they 
limit their airline travel as much as possible because of AIT 
screening. An individual commenter cited a news article that highlights 
increasing ridership of Amtrak over airline travel. Several other 
individual commenters noted that international travelers no longer want 
to visit the United States because of AIT screening. According to 
another individual commenter, the AIT scanners have created an 
``adversarial tension'' between TSOs and travelers that is detrimental 
to security.
    A few commenters discussed TSA's statement in the NPRM that the 
public generally approves of the AIT scanners. For example, an 
individual commenter stated this claim was not supported by data 
regarding the public's approval. Other commenters suggested that TSA 
should not assume the lack of complaints about AIT to be support for 
the use of AIT. For example, a privacy advocacy organization stated 
that TSA has not taken into consideration the number of passengers who 
choose AIT over a pat-down because it is faster and potentially less 
invasive of personal privacy, not because they support the use of AIT. 
Another individual commenter, however, acknowledged that National ABC 
and CBS news polls indicated that the majority of poll participants 
favored full body scanners at airports.
    TSA Response: The information TSA receives from intelligence-
gathering agencies confirms that civil aviation remains a favored 
target for extremists and terror organizations. AIT is an essential 
tool to address that threat by helping TSA to detect both metallic and 
nonmetallic explosives and other dangerous items concealed under 
clothing. AIT screening generally is optional and passengers are 
advised that they may choose to undergo a pat-down instead of AIT.
    TSA takes the issues raised in the comments regarding the screening 
experience seriously and has instituted changes in its policies to 
address these concerns. New risk-based policies have transformed the 
agency from one that screens every passenger in the same manner to one 
that employs a more effective, risk-based, intelligence-driven 
approach. Adopting a risk-based approach permits much-needed 
flexibility to adjust to changing travel patterns and shifting threats.
    For example, beginning in 2011, after analyzing intelligence 
reports, TSA instituted new screening procedures for passengers under 
the age of 12 and those ages 75 and older to expedite screening and 
reduce the need for a pat-down to resolve alarms.\11\ TSA also 
instituted TSA Pre[check]TM (a known and trusted traveler 
program) based on the rationale that most passengers do not pose a risk 
to aviation security.\12\ This program increases passenger throughput 
at the security checkpoint and improves the screening experience of 
frequent, trusted travelers.\13\ In addition, TSA 
Pre[check]TM reduces the amount of time TSOs devote to 
screening low-risk travelers, thereby increasing the resources 
available to deter or detect the next attack. TSA is working to expand 
the population of passengers eligible for the program, the number of 
participating air carriers, and the airports where it is available. In 
December 2013, TSA launched its TSA Pre[check]TM application 
program that allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to 
apply for TSA Pre[check]TM. As of February 2015, TSA 
Pre[check]TM is available at 120 airports and eleven 
airlines participate in the program. Millions of passengers have 
undergone expedited screening through the program. Finally, TSA has 
instituted a new protocol at certain airports that allow passengers who 
are not registered in TSA Pre[check]TM to undergo a real-
time threat assessment at the airport so that they may be randomly 
selected for expedited screening. TSA will always incorporate random 
and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport, and no 
individual is guaranteed expedited screening. TSA encourages all 
potential passengers to learn about the TSA Pre[check]TM 
program by going to its Web site at www.tsa.gov.
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    \11\ These individuals currently can receive some form of 
expedited screening, are permitted to leave their shoes, light 
jackets, and headwear on for screening, and are screened primarily 
by the Walk-Through Metal Detector (WTMD). See https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures, https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/traveling-children.
    \12\ https://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.
    \13\ https://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck. See also Ruskai v. 
Pistole, 775 F.3d 61, 64 (1st Cir. 2014) (``Additionally, TSA has 
opted to impose more limited screening burdens on passengers whom it 
confirms are part of TSA's PreCheck program. As described in the 
briefing, PreCheck offers passenger members `expedited screening in 
designated lanes if they have been cleared for such screening based 
on certain background checks conducted prior to their arrival at the 
airport,' and a more limited pat-down in the event that the 
passenger alarms a WTMD.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As explained in the NPRM, in order to address privacy concerns and 
meet the statutory requirement to install and employ ATR software on 
all AIT units, TSA removed all backscatter AIT machines from screening 
checkpoints, and only millimeter wave AIT machines equipped with ATR 
are used to screen passengers. The ATR displays a generic outline on 
which boxes appear where an anomaly is detected. The outline is 
displayed on the AIT machine so that the passenger and the TSO are able 
to see the boxes. No specific image of an individual is created.
    TSA disagrees with statements that use of AIT has had a material 
impact on U.S. air travel and the comments did not contain data in 
support. TSA was unable to find empirical evidence that air travel is 
reduced due to AIT. TSA notes that based on PMIS data collected from 
2009, the first full year of data collection, through 2013, the last 
full year of data available at the time TSA began drafting this final 
rule, approximately one percent of passengers have selected a pat-down 
over AIT screening.\14\ TSA agrees with a commenter that independent 
polling on AIT acceptance shows strong public support for and 
understanding of the need for AIT.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ PMIS is a database used to track checkpoint operations. The 
database contains information on AIT use.
    \15\ 78 FR 18296 at footnote 62.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. TSA Authority To Use AIT

    Comments: Many individual commenters stated that TSA has 
overstepped its authority by deploying AIT and that the agency itself 
should be eliminated or that AIT should be eliminated as a screening 
technology. Additionally, many individual commenters stated that 
responsibility for airport security and the costs should be returned to 
either the owners of airports or the airlines.
    A non-profit organization referenced 49 U.S.C. 44903(b)(2)(A) and 
49 U.S.C. 44903(b)(2)(B) to support its statement that the proposed 
rule is inconsistent with statutory requirements to protect passengers 
and the public interest in promoting air transportation. The 
organization stated that TSA is not authorized ``to sexually assault 
passengers'' under current statutes or regulations. An individual 
commenter stated that TSA, as a Federal agency, has no jurisdiction 
over public airports, which the commenter stated are mostly on state 
land. Another individual commenter alleged that the

[[Page 11369]]

Administrator of TSA acted illegally implementing AIT and stated he 
should be removed from office and charged accordingly.
    TSA Response: TSA has the statutory authority to deploy AIT. The 
Administrator of TSA has overall responsibility for civil aviation 
security, and Congress has conferred on the Administrator authority to 
carry out that responsibility.\16\ Federal law requires that the 
Administrator ``assess threats to transportation,'' and ``develop 
policies, strategies, and plans for dealing with threats to 
transportation security.'' \17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ 49 U.S.C. 114(d).
    \17\ 49 U.S.C. 114(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the 
enactment of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA),\18\ 
air carriers were required to conduct the screening of passengers and 
property and did so in accordance with regulations issued by the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and security programs approved by 
the FAA.\19\ The security programs were sensitive security information 
(SSI) and were not shared with the public.\20\ The ATSA transferred 
that responsibility to TSA, as codified at 49 U.S.C. 44901(a), and 
required the TSA Administrator to provide for the screening of all 
passengers and property that will be carried aboard a passenger 
aircraft. Federal law also requires the TSA Administrator to prescribe 
regulations to require air carriers to refuse to transport a passenger 
or the property of a passenger who does not consent to a search, and to 
protect passengers and property on an aircraft against an act of 
criminal violence or aircraft piracy.\21\ As commenters noted, when 
prescribing certain regulations, the Administrator is required to 
consider whether the regulation is consistent with protecting 
passengers and the public interest in promoting air transportation.\22\ 
Air transportation security is essential to ensure the freedom of 
movement for people and commerce. As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
First Circuit wrote in Ruskai, ``[p]lanes blown out of the sky in 
Russia and attempted bombings on U.S. airliners in recent years have 
warned TSA that its screening procedures must be capable of detecting 
both metallic and nonmetallic threats.'' \23\ TSA has determined that 
AIT is the best method currently available to screen passengers for 
both metallic and nonmetallic threats concealed under clothing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ Public Law 107-71 (115 Stat. 597, Nov. 19, 2001).
    \19\ 14 CFR part 108, 66 FR 37330 (July 17, 2001). The FAA 
Administrator prescribed regulations requiring air carriers to 
screen all passengers and property before boarding.
    \20\ See 14 CFR 191.7(a) (2001).
    \21\ 49 U.S.C. 44902(a) and 44903(b).
    \22\ 49 U.S.C. 44903(b)(1),(2), and (3).
    \23\ Ruskai v. Pistole, 775 F.3d, 61, 63 (1st Cir. 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As explained in the NPRM, Congress has directed that TSA prioritize 
the development and deployment of new technologies to detect all types 
of terrorist weapons at airport screening checkpoints, including the 
submission of a strategic plan to promote the optimal utilization and 
deployment of a range of detection technologies, including, 
``backscatter x-ray scanners.'' \24\ TSA has complied with this statute 
and with the subsequent statutory requirement that all AIT units used 
for passenger screening be equipped with ATR software, which eliminates 
passenger-specific images and only produces a generic outline.\25\ 
Since May 16, 2013, all AIT units deployed by TSA have been equipped 
with ATR software; AIT units that could not accommodate ATR software 
have been removed from the airports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ 49 U.S.C. 44925(a) and (b). ``Detection Equipment at 
Airport Screening Checkpoints,'' Report to Congress, Aug. 9, 2005. 
See also 78 FR 18292.
    \25\ 49 U.S.C. 44901(l).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

E. Congressional Directive To Deploy AIT

    Comments: Some commenters addressed the 2004 congressional 
directive discussed in the NPRM regarding the development and 
deployment of new screening equipment. An individual commenter noted 
that this congressional direction specifically included the investment 
in and deployment of AIT. Other commenters, however, stated that TSA's 
implementation of AIT is inconsistent with congressional direction. 
Specifically, a privacy advocacy group stated that TSA's deployment of 
AIT is inconsistent with a qualifier in the congressional directive--
that the agency develop equipment to detect threats that terrorists 
would likely try to smuggle aboard an air carrier aircraft.\26\ The 
commenter stated that TSA has demonstrated an overly broad 
interpretation of the congressional authorization and that, although 
the agency repeatedly cites AIT's abilities to identify weapons, the 
NPRM does not establish how such weapons are likely to be smuggled 
aboard planes by terrorists. The commenter further stated that TSA must 
analyze and evaluate AIT and alternatives regarding the ability to 
detect weapons and explosives likely to be used by terrorists, and 
demonstrate that AIT best achieves that goal with concrete evidence. 
The commenter stated that the analysis on which TSA currently relies 
fails to do either satisfactorily.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ 49 U.S.C. 44925(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One individual commenter stated that a congressional directive is 
insufficient to supplant TSA's duty to make a reasoned decision 
regarding the use of AIT. An individual commenter expressed concern 
that TSA did not act in accordance with the congressional direction 
because the agency acted without either public input or independent 
testing, and pursued a technology the commenter stated was purchased as 
part of a ``corrupt deal.'' Another individual commenter stated that 
Congress authorized TSA to procure and deploy AIT only as a secondary 
screening tool at security checkpoints--not as a primary means of 
screening. Other individual commenters stated that even if Congress has 
authorized the proposed deployment of AIT, the proposed use of AIT is 
not necessarily legal or the appropriate course of action, and TSA was 
not performing the agency's own due diligence in trying to restrain the 
executive and legislative branches subsequent to congressional 
direction.
    TSA Response: TSA is in compliance with Federal law, as well as 
congressional directives to pursue the development of new, advanced 
detection technology.\27\ AIT addresses a critical vulnerability in 
aviation security. While WTMD and hand-held metal detectors are unable 
to screen for nonmetallic items, AIT can detect non-metallic explosives 
and other non-metallic threats, such as plastic firearms and knives. 
Explosives Trace Detection Devices (ETD) screen for nonmetallic 
explosives, but the process is too slow to perform on the same number 
of passengers as are currently screened by AIT. Congress clearly 
recognized this issue when it directed TSA to ``give a high priority to 
developing, testing, improving, and deploying, at airport screening 
checkpoints, equipment that detects nonmetallic, chemical, biological, 
and radiological weapons, and explosives, in all forms, on individuals 
and in their personal property.'' \28\ There is no requirement in the 
statute or in any of the congressional reports to limit the use of AIT 
to secondary screening.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ See 49 U.S.C. 44925(a) and 44901(l).
    \28\ 49 U.S.C. 44925(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    AIT provides greater detection capability for weapons, explosives, 
and other threats concealed on a passenger's body that may not trigger 
a metal

[[Page 11370]]

detector. Concealed threat items, including nonmetallic explosives, 
pose a substantial threat to aviation security. As the former TSA 
Administrator explained in an August 2013 speech to the Airports 
Council International/North America, ``With respect to the evolving 
security challenges we all face today, one of the principal concerns we 
have is the continued migration to more nonmetallic threats such as 
liquid and plastic explosives.'' \29\ As explained in the NPRM, on 
December 25, 2009, a bombing plot by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula 
(AQAP) culminated in Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to blow up an 
American aircraft over the United States using a non-metallic explosive 
device hidden in his underwear. 78 FR 18291. More recently, in the 
spring of 2012, AQAP developed another concealed, nonmetallic explosive 
that had a new level of redundancy in the event the primary system 
failed. Fortunately, this plot was thwarted.\30\ Additionally, open 
source information shows that terrorists currently plan to conduct 
attacks against the United States. Terrorists test the limits of TSA's 
ability to detect nonmetallic explosives concealed under clothing; the 
destruction of passenger aircraft remains a terrorist priority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ John S. Pistole, TSA Administrator, address at the Airports 
Council International-North America (Aug. 14, 2013). Text available 
at https://www.tsa.gov/news/speeches/airports-council-international-%E2%80%93-north-america-tsa-administrator-john-s-pistole-0.
    \30\ Id. Note that these examples occurred on flights 
originating outside of the United States. Therefore, TSA's AIT would 
not have been in place to detect the devices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

F. Compliance With the Administrative Procedure Act

    Comments: Some commenters addressed concerns related to the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Generally, commenters stated that 
TSA has not complied with the APA's procedural requirements. Non-profit 
organizations, a privacy advocacy group, and individual commenters 
stated that TSA did not comply with APA requirements prior to initial 
deployment of AIT. A privacy advocacy group stated that the agency 
received two petitions signed by numerous civil liberties organizations 
to institute a rulemaking proceeding, yet failed to initiate such a 
proceeding. A few individual commenters stated that if TSA had 
initially complied with rulemaking procedures, the public likely would 
have rejected the proposed action, and TSA would not have been able to 
deploy the technology. A privacy advocacy group and an individual 
commenter raised further concerns regarding the money spent on the 
deployment of AIT despite the lack of opportunity for public comment.
    Commenters stated that the proposed rule and justification provided 
in the NPRM would not meet the arbitrary and capricious standard 
applied to agency actions under the APA. A privacy advocacy group 
stated that factors regarding effectiveness, alternatives, and health 
risks were not considered and the term ``anomaly'' was not adequately 
explained.
    Commenters also stated that the proposed regulatory language 
effectively failed to provide the public with adequate notice and 
denied the public the opportunity to provide meaningful comment because 
the rule is too broad and vague, and descriptive information on the 
program was omitted.
    An individual commenter wrote that noncompliance with APA 
requirements indicated TSA acts as it chooses without accountability. 
Another individual commenter requested TSA to commit to complying with 
APA requirements in the future. A non-profit organization requested 
that TSA hold public hearings in the future before imposing new 
procedures and policies, but specified that the agency should retain 
the authority to declare emergency regulations and procedures without 
public hearings or a comment period. Further, an individual commenter 
suggested that TSA withdraw the proposed rule and issue an advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking to allow TSA to gather missing 
information in order to receive comments that are more meaningful. An 
advocacy group and an individual commenter stated that TSA only issued 
a NPRM because it was court-ordered. Other commenters wrote that TSA 
had the option to request public input prior to implementing and 
deploying AIT scanners.
    TSA Response: As discussed above, TSA deployed AIT consistent with 
its statutory authority and as directed by Congress. TSA issued the 
NPRM consistent with the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
DC Circuit in EPIC v. DHS, 653 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2011). In that case, 
TSA contended it had properly processed letters it received from EPIC 
and other groups regarding the initiation of a rulemaking proceeding. 
TSA also described how the deployment of AIT was consistent with 
statutory exceptions to the notice-and-comment requirements of the APA. 
The court did not agree. ``None of the exceptions urged by the TSA 
justifies its failure to give notice of and receive comments upon such 
a rule.'' \31\ The court explained that,
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ EPIC, 653 F.3d at 11.

[d]espite the precautions taken by the TSA, it is clear that by 
producing an image of the unclothed passenger, an AIT scanner 
intrudes upon his or her personal privacy in a way a magnetometer 
does not. Therefore, regardless whether this is a `new substantive 
burden,'. . . the change substantively affects the public to a 
degree sufficient to implicate the policy interests animating 
notice-and-comment rulemaking.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ Id. at 6.

    A subsequent decision by the same court, however, indicates that 
TSA's decision not to engage in rulemaking prior to deploying AIT was 
not unreasonable. Following the court's APA ruling, EPIC petitioned the 
court to recover attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act 
(EAJA). 28 U.S.C. 2412(d). The EAJA allows attorney's fees to be 
recovered unless the position of the government ``was substantially 
justified or . . . special circumstances make an award unjust.'' \33\ 
In denying EPIC's request to recover attorney's fees, the court stated, 
``[t]he TSA's position regarding the only issue on which EPIC 
prevailed--whether the agency improperly bypassed notice and comment in 
adopting the new screening technology--was substantially justified.'' 
\34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ 28 U.S.C. 2412(d)(1)(A).
    \34\ EPIC v. DHS, No. 10-1157 (Order filed Feb. 15, 2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Federal regulation stipulates that no individual may enter the 
sterile area of an airport or board an aircraft without submitting to 
the screening and inspection of his or her person and accessible 
property ``in accordance with the procedures being applied to control 
access to that area or aircraft. . . .'' 49 CFR 1540.107(a). This 
requirement was originally promulgated by the FAA through notice and 
comment rulemaking and then transferred to TSA by ATSA.\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ See 62 FR 41730, 63 FR 19691, and 66 FR 37330, 37360. The 
ATSA transferred that authority from FAA to TSA in 2001. On February 
22, 2002, the TSA and FAA published a final rule titled ``Civil 
Aviation Security Rules,'' 67 FR 8340, transferring the regulations 
at 14 CFR parts 107, 108, 109 and 191 to 49 CFR parts 1540, 1542, 
1544, 1548, and 1520, and Sec. Sec.  129.25 and 129.26 to part 1546.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although TSA acknowledges that it did not engage in notice and 
comment rulemaking related to the deployment of AIT specifically prior 
to its use, TSA does not agree with statements by commenters that there 
was no public notice of TSA's use of AIT. Prior to the deployment of 
AIT, TSA conducted years of testing on the safety, effectiveness, and 
efficiency of the

[[Page 11371]]

technology.\36\ Contrary to the assertion of a commenter regarding the 
purchase of AIT equipment, the AIT equipment was obtained in accordance 
with all government procurement requirements, which includes the public 
solicitation of bids.\37\ TSA also considered alternatives to AIT and 
these are discussed in the NPRM and the RIA. In 2007, TSA initiated the 
first pilot test of AIT in the secondary screening position. In January 
2008, TSA published a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), which 
encompassed AIT screening of all passengers, both as a primary and 
secondary form of passenger screening.\38\ The PIA provided notice to 
the public regarding TSA's use of the technology. It stated that TSA 
published extensive information on the technology on its Web site 
beginning in February 2007 and conducted outreach with national press 
and with privacy advocacy groups to explain the evaluation of the 
technology. The PIA explained that informational brochures were made 
available to the public at each pilot site showing the image that the 
technology created. The cover page of each PIA includes a point of 
contact for the public to reach out to with questions or concerns. In 
2009, TSA began to test AIT as the primary screening equipment. In 
2010, TSA submitted a Report to Congress on privacy protections and 
deployment of AIT.\39\ TSA also published information on its Web site 
to inform passengers of AIT procedures at the checkpoint at 
www.tsa.gov. The public may provide comments or concerns regarding AIT 
by contacting the TSA Contact Center.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ See, e.g., ``Detection Equipment at Airport Screening 
Checkpoints,'' Report to Congress, Aug. 9, 2005. The report 
describes TSA's ongoing research and development program to develop 
technologies to increase its ability to detect explosives on 
passengers, including body imaging systems, i.e., backscatter x-ray.
    \37\ See The TSA is seeking sources for Imaging Technology 
systems, Solicitation No. HSTS04-08-R-CT2056, https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=be7cd5b087bd3d28ce6bee81f7644141&tab=core&_cview=1.
    \38\ ``Privacy Impact Assessment for TSA Whole Body Imaging,'' 
Jan. 2, 2008. Updates to the initial AIT PIA were conducted on Oct. 
17, 2008, Jul. 23, 2009, and Jan. 25, 2011. See http://www.dhs.gov/publication/dhstsapia-032-advanced-imaging-technology. All TSA PIA 
reports are available at http://www.dhs.gov/privacy-documents-transportation-security-administration-tsa.
    \39\ ``Advanced Imaging Technologies: Passenger Privacy 
Protections,'' Fiscal Year 2010 Report to Congress, Feb. 25, 2010.
    \40\ https://www.tsa.gov/contact.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As directed by the court, TSA issued the NPRM and invited public 
comment on its proposed regulation regarding the use of AIT for primary 
screening of passengers. The NPRM invited public comment on a variety 
of issues related to the use of AIT, including the threat to aviation 
security, types of AIT equipment, privacy safeguards, safety, AIT 
procedures and items discovered using AIT. TSA received thousands of 
comments on these issues. In response to comments and to avoid 
confusion, TSA has altered the regulatory text in the final rule. TSA 
has determined not to define AIT using the term ``anomaly''; instead, 
TSA has adopted the statutory definition of AIT, i.e., a device used in 
the screening of passengers that creates a visual image of an 
individual showing the surface of the skin and revealing other objects 
on the body. In addition, TSA has clarified the final rule by adopting 
the statutory provision to deploy AIT equipped with ATR software. Thus, 
AIT equipment must produce a generic image of the individual being 
screened that is the same as the images produced for all other screened 
individuals. These changes are in response to the concerns of 
commenters regarding the breadth of the regulatory text, and 
significantly mitigate any privacy concerns associated with the use of 
AIT as a primary screening method. Accordingly, and consistent with 
TSA's obligation to complete this rulemaking and TSA's discretion to 
prioritize its rulemaking resources, TSA does not intend to issue a 
supplemental NPRM or hold public hearings on this matter. TSA addresses 
issues regarding effectiveness and safety in subsequent responses.

G. Adherence to the Court Decision in EPIC v. DHS

    Comments: Commenters also discussed the court's decision in EPIC v. 
DHS. Several individual commenters specifically supported EPIC's 
position that AIT scanners are invasive of individual privacy. Another 
individual commenter opposed the court's decision to allow TSA to 
continue use of AIT. A privacy advocacy group wrote that the NPRM 
incorrectly stated the holding of the case. A privacy advocacy group 
and many individual commenters pointed out the length of time that 
elapsed between the court decision and the issuance of the NPRM. A 
privacy advocacy group stated that it filed three mandamus petitions 
during the elapsed 2-year period. An advocacy group stated that the 
constitutional issue raised by EPIC was not ripe for decision because 
the court did not have a rulemaking record before it and speculated 
that the court might invalidate its holding regarding the Fourth 
Amendment in a future judicial review of this rulemaking.
    TSA Response: TSA is in compliance with the court's directive to 
engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking on the use of AIT to screen 
passengers. TSA notes that all of EPIC's other constitutional and 
statutory challenges to the use of AIT, including its Fourth Amendment 
claims, were rejected by the court. The court also rejected EPIC's 
petition for rehearing (including the Fourth Amendment ruling), as well 
as three subsequent petitions that EPIC filed demanding immediate 
issuance of the NPRM. TSA notes that the court issued its decision 
before TSA instituted ATR software on all of the millimeter wave AIT 
units and removed all of the backscatter units from service. The ATR 
software does not produce an individual image of a passenger that must 
be reviewed by a TSO, but instead reveals a generic outline that is 
visible to the passenger as well as the TSO. In a recent case decided 
after these changes in AIT equipment were implemented, the U.S. Court 
of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a constitutional challenge 
to AIT body scanners that depict revealing images of bodies and pat-
downs procedures for passengers who opted out of screening using AIT 
became moot following the installation of ATR software on all 
millimeter wave units and the removal of backscatter machines.\41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ Redfern v. Napolitano, 727 F.3d 77, 83-85 (1st Cir. 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

H. Fourth Amendment Issues

    Comments: Commenters also addressed concerns related to the Fourth 
Amendment. The vast majority of these commenters stated that use of AIT 
constitutes a violation of Fourth Amendment rights. Individual 
commenters stated that AIT fails to meet the standard of a 
constitutionally permissible search. Specifically, some individual 
commenters stated that TSA could not conduct such searches without a 
warrant. Individual commenters also stated that neither the purchase of 
an airline ticket nor a desire to travel is sufficient to give TSA 
``probable cause'' to conduct a search.
    Others stated that AIT is impermissible under Federal case law. 
Several individual commenters cited the holding in U.S. v. Davis, in 
which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that 
administrative searches must be ``no more extensive nor intensive than 
necessary, in the light of current technology, to detect the presence 
of weapons or explosives, that it is confined in good faith to that 
purpose, and that potential passengers may avoid the search by electing 
not to

[[Page 11372]]

fly.'' \42\ Several individual commenters stated that the AIT screening 
process fails to meet this standard because elements of the scan and 
the opt-out alternative are too intrusive, and the scope of the scan is 
not tailored narrowly enough to exclusively identify weapons, 
explosives, and incendiaries (e.g., AIT is able to identify items such 
as adult diapers and women's sanitary products, which commenters stated 
are outside the scope of threats TSA is trying to identify). Individual 
commenters recommended alternative search methods that they thought 
were less invasive and better suited to meet TSA's need, such as x-
raying suitcases, using WTMD, and only using AIT as a secondary means 
of screening.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ 482 F.2d 893, 913 (9th Cir. 1973).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other court cases cited in the comments to support claims that AIT 
violates the Fourth Amendment include: U.S. v. Pulido-Baquerizo, 800 
F.2d 899 (9th Cir. 1986), U.S. v. Skipwith 482 F.2d. 1272 (5th Cir. 
1973), U.S. v. Hartwell, 436 F.3d 174 (3d Cir. 2006), Camara v. 
Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523 (1967), Missouri v. McNeely, 133 S.Ct. 
1552 (2013), Katz v. U.S., 389 U.S. 347 (1967). An individual commenter 
also cited a court decision pertaining to virtual strip searches, 
Reynolds v. City of Anchorage, 379 F.3d 358 (6th Cir. 2004) to support 
opposition to AIT.
    An individual commenter observed that, even though AIT use was not 
found to be in violation of the Fourth Amendment in EPIC v. DHS, the 
subsequent issuance of an NPRM, which does not specify the degree to 
which AIT will be used to promote the government's interest, may result 
in TSA's failure to meet the balancing test applied to Fourth Amendment 
rights cases.
    TSA Response: The court in EPIC held that the use of AIT as a 
primary screening method at an airport security checkpoint does not 
violate the Fourth Amendment.\43\ This decision is consistent with 
decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal circuits that have 
upheld airport security screening as a valid administrative search that 
does not require a warrant, probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or 
the consent of the passenger.\44\ More than 30 years ago, the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recognized that the government 
``unquestionably has the most compelling reasons,'' including ``the 
safety of hundreds of lives and millions of dollars' worth of private 
property for subjecting airline passengers to a search for weapons and 
explosives.'' Singleton v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, 606 F.2d 50, 52 
(3d Cir. 1979). ``[T]he events of September 11, 2001, only emphasize 
the heightened need to conduct searches at this nation's international 
airports,'' U.S. v. Yang, 286 F.3d 940, 944 n.1 (7th Cir. 2002). In a 
recent opinion issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 
Circuit, the Court concluded that AIT ``is a reasonable administrative 
search under the Fourth Amendment.'' \45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ EPIC, 653 F.3d at 10.
    \44\ Chandler v. Miller, 520 U.S. 305, 323 (1997) (``We 
reiterate, too, that where the risk to public safety is substantial 
and real, blanket suspicionless searches calibrated to the risk may 
rank as `reasonable'-for example, searches now routine at 
airports''), Nat'l Treasury Emps. Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656, 
675 n.3 (1989) (``The point [of valid suspicionless searches] is 
well illustrated also by the Federal Government's practice of 
requiring the search of all passengers seeking to board commercial 
airlines . . . without any basis for suspecting any particular 
passenger of an untoward motive.''), U.S. v. Aukai, 497 F.3d 955, 
960 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc) (``The constitutionality of an airport 
screening search, however, does not depend on consent.'').
    \45\ Corbett v. TSA, 767 F.3d 1171, 1180 (11th Cir. 2014) (``The 
scanners at airport checkpoints are a reasonable administrative 
search because the governmental interest in preventing terrorism 
outweighs the degree of intrusion on . . . privacy and the scanners 
advance that public interest.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Like other exceptions created by courts for searches that do not 
require a warrant, the administrative search within the airport context 
reflects the careful balancing of the public's privacy interests 
against the compelling goal of protecting the traveling public. As 
explained by the D.C. Circuit in EPIC, because the primary goal of 
airport screening is ``not to determine whether any passenger has 
committed a crime but rather to protect the public from a terrorist 
attack,'' airport screening is permissible under the Fourth Amendment 
without individualized suspicion so long as the government's interest 
in conducting screening outweighs the degree of intrusion on an 
individual's privacy.\46\ The court made clear that this standard does 
not require the government to use the least intrusive search method 
possible.\47\ In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the scope 
of the administrative search must be ``reasonably related to [its] 
objectives'' and ``not excessively intrusive.'' \48\ In EPIC, the court 
found that the--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \46\ EPIC, 653 F.3d at 10.
    \47\ Id. at 10-11.
    \48\ City of Ontario v. Quon, 560 U.S. 746, 761 (2010) (internal 
quotation marks omitted).

balance clearly favors the Government here. The need to search 
airline passengers `to ensure public safety can be particularly 
acute,' and, crucially, an AIT scanner, unlike a magnetometer, is 
capable of detecting, and therefore of deterring, attempts to carry 
aboard airplanes explosives in liquid or powder form. On the other 
side of the balance, we must acknowledge the steps TSA has already 
taken to protect passenger privacy, in particular distorting the 
image created using AIT and deleting it as soon as the passenger has 
been cleared.\49\ [Citations omitted]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \49\ EPIC, 653 F.3d at 10.

    With the addition of ATR software and the elimination of any 
individual image, the balance tips even more in favor of the 
government. Courts have also held that, ``absent a search, there is no 
effective means of detecting which airline passengers are reasonably 
likely to hijack an airplane.'' \50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ See Singleton v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, 606 F.2d 50, 
52 (3d Cir. 1979). See also U.S. v. Marquez, 410 F.3d 612, 616 (9th 
Cir. 2005) (``Little can be done to balk the malefactor after 
weapons or explosives are successfully smuggled aboard, and as yet 
there is no foolproof method of confining the search to the few who 
are potential hijackers.'' (quoting Davis, 482 F.2 at 910)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Commenters' claims and citations to support the position that the 
least intrusive search method must be adopted are contrary to U.S. 
Supreme Court precedent in Quon, as well as the EPIC decision. In fact, 
the court in EPIC specifically rejected the argument that U.S. v. 
Hartwell, cited in many of the comments, stands for the proposition 
that AIT scanners must be minimally intrusive to be consistent with the 
Fourth Amendment.\51\ Moreover, especially following the universal 
deployment of ATR software, TSA believes that the use of AIT as a 
primary screening method is not intrusive. The scan and the results 
require just a few seconds. Passengers are not subjected to any 
physical intrusion. The only potential for invasiveness occurs when AIT 
alarms, thereby requiring additional screening to verify whether a 
threat item is present.\52\ Passengers are instructed through TSA's Web 
site and cautioned before they enter the AIT unit to remove all items 
from their pockets to prevent an alarm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \51\ EPIC, 653 F.3d at 10-11.
    \52\ In other limited circumstances, based on the particular 
item of clothing, TSA may require additional screening even if the 
AIT does not alarm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA is not required to use any of the alternatives to AIT mentioned 
in the comments to achieve the legal requirements of a valid search. 
For example, all baggage, whether checked or carry-on, is already 
screened as required under 49 U.S.C. 44901. Limiting an airport search 
to baggage, however, would not address the threat that a person could 
conceal an explosive on his or her person. The government has latitude 
under the Fourth Amendment to choose among

[[Page 11373]]

reasonable alternatives for conducting an administrative search.\53\ 
AIT is the only technology that will find both metallic and non-
metallic items, and will find both explosives and non-explosives items. 
The WTMD only finds metallic items, thus does not find such threats as 
explosive devices made without metal, or other non-metallic items. The 
ETD will find only explosives, not metallic items (such as firearms) or 
non-metallic items that are not explosives (such as ceramic knives); 
the same is true for explosives detection canines. Pat-down screening 
is useful for finding both metallic and non-metallic items, and will 
find both explosives and non-explosives items, however, that method is 
slower than AIT and many persons consider pat downs to be more 
intrusive than AIT.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \53\ Quon, 560 U.S. at 764 (``Even assuming there were ways that 
[the government] could have performed the search that would have 
been less intrusive, it does not follow that the search conducted 
was unreasonable.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The other cases cited in the comments, particularly those relating 
to whether consent is required for airport screening, are inapplicable. 
Both U.S. v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893 (9th Cir. 1973) and U.S. v. Pulido-
Baquerizo, 800 F.2d 899 (9th Cir. 1986) regarding whether a passenger 
must consent to a search, have been superseded by the decision of the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in U.S. v. Aukai.\54\ In 
Aukai, the court confirmed that airport screening searches are 
constitutionally reasonable administrative searches and clarified that 
the reasonableness of such searches does not depend, in whole or in 
part, upon the consent of the passenger being searched.\55\ U.S. v. 
Skipwith, 482 F.2d 1272 (5th Cir. 1973), deals with a law enforcement 
search based on suspicion, which is not required for the administrative 
search performed by TSA. Neither Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 
523 (1967), Missouri v. McNeely, 133 S. Ct. 1552 (2012), nor Katz v. 
U.S., 389 U.S. 347 (1967) involves the administrative search conducted 
by TSA at airport security checkpoints, which courts have consistently 
found is justified by the compelling government interest in protecting 
the traveling public.\56\ Finally, the reference to strip search cases 
by a commenter is not applicable to AIT given the privacy restrictions 
TSA used when it first deployed AIT and even more so now that all AIT 
units are equipped with ATR software and do not display an individual 
image. In addition, the AIT units do not have the ability to store, 
print, or transmit any images. As noted previously, a TSO does not 
usually touch a passenger's body unless the AIT alarms. With ATR, there 
is no individual image of a traveler; the generic outlines produced are 
so innocuous that they are displayed publicly at the airport.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \54\ U.S. v. Aukai, 497 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc).
    \55\ Aukai, 497 F.3d at 957.
    \56\ See generally Marquez, 410 F.3d 612,618 (``It is hard to 
overestimate the need to search air travelers for weapons and 
explosives'') and Singleton, 606 F.2d 50, 52 (``the government 
unquestionably has the most compelling reasons . . . for subjecting 
airline passengers to a search for weapons or explosives that could 
be used to hijack an airplane.''). The facts in Camara involved the 
attempted search of a home without a warrant. The Supreme Court 
found that the government was not able to articulate a special need 
or legitimate public interest to justify dispensing with the 
requirement to obtain a warrant. In McNeely, a blood test of a 
person suspected of driving while intoxicated was obtained without a 
warrant. In Katz, the Supreme Court held that electronically 
listening to and recording an individual's conversation at a public 
telephone booth without a warrant violated the Fourth Amendment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Other Legal Issues

    Comments: Commenters raised other legal issues in opposing AIT. 
Several individual commenters, a non-profit organization, and several 
advocacy groups stated that AIT scanning and/or opt-out process 
violates rights guaranteed by the First, Second, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, 
Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments, respectively. Commenters did 
not generally provide further substantive legal arguments in support of 
these constitutional claims. An advocacy group, however, cited a 
Supreme Court case, Aptheker v. Sec'y of State, 378 U.S. 500, 505 
(1964), which held that if a law ``too broadly and indiscriminately 
restricts the right to travel'' it ``thereby abridges the liberty 
guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.'' The commenter further stated that 
the court considered relevant ``that Congress has within its power 
`less drastic' means of achieving the congressional objective of 
safeguarding our national security.'' An individual commenter cited 
U.S. v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745 (1966) and Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 
618 (1969) in opposing the use of AIT. Another advocacy group cited 49 
U.S.C. 40101, 40103, and the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, a treaty that the U.S. has ratified, as further 
reinforcing the right to travel. The commenter remarked that the NPRM 
does not recognize that travel by air and, specifically, by common 
carrier, is a right and that TSA must evaluate its proposed actions 
within that context. Similarly, an individual commenter stated that 
TSA's use of AIT involves limitations on constitutional rights and, 
therefore, strict scrutiny should be the judicial review standard 
applied. Another individual commenter stated that implementation of AIT 
scanners assumes travelers' guilt, which is in violation of the 
principle of the presumption of innocence.
    One individual commenter stated that it is outside of TSA's mission 
to identify and confiscate items that are not a threat (e.g., illegal 
drugs) and that such ``mission creep'' is an inappropriate use of 
Federal funds and distracts TSA staff from their actual mission. Other 
individual commenters stated that AIT and pat-downs violate laws 
prohibiting sexual molestation. A non-profit organization suggested 
that TSA review and modify its policies to ensure that they do not 
conflict with existing state law procedures protecting children from 
physical and sexual assault or with existing child protective services 
legislation.
    TSA Response: As to the claims of violations of the Constitution, 
as explained in the response to the previous grouping of comments, in 
recognition of the importance of the safety concerns at issue, courts 
have regularly upheld airport screening procedures against 
constitutional challenges. Thus, it is well settled as a matter of law 
that an airport screening search conducted to protect the safety of air 
travelers is a legitimate exercise of government authority and does not 
impinge on any of the constitutional amendments listed in the comments. 
Passengers are on notice that their persons and their property are 
subject to search prior to entering the sterile area of the airport or 
boarding an aircraft. Federal law requires ``the screening of all 
passengers and property'' before boarding an aircraft to ensure no 
passenger is ``carrying unlawfully a dangerous weapon, explosive, or 
other destructive substance.'' 49 U.S.C. 44901(a) and 44902(a). Federal 
law also requires commercial air carriers to prevent anyone from 
boarding who does not submit to security screening. 49 U.S.C. 44902(a).
    The use of AIT to conduct passenger screening does not implicate 
any constitutional rights in the manner described in the comments. 
Passengers are not restricted regarding their speech or right to 
assemble so long as they do not interfere with screening.\57\

[[Page 11374]]

Passengers may transport unloaded firearms in checked baggage in a 
locked, hard-sided container, thus, there is no infringement of Second 
Amendment rights. 49 CFR 1540.111. In general, the Fifth, Sixth, and 
Eighth Amendments have to do with the rights of persons accused of a 
crime and have no relevance to airport security screening conducted by 
TSA. Federal law requires that screening be conducted on all passengers 
and property prior to boarding an aircraft, and rights reserved for 
citizens or the states, discussed in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments 
respectively, are not impacted by airport screening. Comments invoking 
the Fourteenth Amendment generally did so without specifying which 
clause of the Amendment is at issue the or how it was implicated by 
AIT, or invoked it in connection with non-AIT aspects of TSA screening.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \57\ Interference with screening is prohibited by 49 CFR 
1540.109. TSA defines interference in part as that which ``might 
distract or inhibit a screener from effectively performing his or 
her duties,'' to include verbal abuse of screeners by passengers or 
air crew, but not good-faith questions from individuals seeking to 
understand the screening of their persons or property. See 67 FR 
8340, 8344 (Feb. 22, 2002). Interference with screening might also 
include passenger activity that requires a screener to ``turn away 
from his or her normal duties to deal with the disruptive 
individual,'' or might ``discourage the screener from being as 
thorough as required.'' See id.; 49 CFR 1540.109; Rendon v. TSA, 424 
F.3d 475 (6th Cir. 2005) (constitutional rights not infringed when 
penalty was imposed on traveler who became loud and belligerent 
after he set off metal detector alarm which required screener to 
shut down his line and call over his supervisor).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Federal courts have long held that airport screening searches do 
not violate a traveler's right to travel.\58\ ``Air passengers choose 
to fly, and screening procedures . . . have existed in every airport in 
the country since at least 1974.'' \59\ The holding in Aptheker, cited 
by a commenter, pertained to whether Section 6 of the Subversive 
Activities Control Act of 1950, which restricted members of Communist 
organizations in obtaining or using a passport, was constitutional. It 
has no application to the use of AIT to conduct airport screening, 
which does not restrict a person's right to travel, the ability to 
obtain a passport, or the ability to obtain documentation necessary to 
enter a country legally. Further, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 
has held that TSA's regulation requiring passengers to present 
identification prior to entering a sterile area or boarding an 
aircraft, 49 CFR 1540.107(b), does not violate any Constitutional 
rights.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \58\ U.S. v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893 (9th Cir. 1973).
    \59\ Hartwell, 436 F.3d at 174.
    \60\ Gilmore v. Gonzales, 435 F.3d 1125, 1136-1137 (9th Cir. 
2006) (``We reject Gilmore's right to travel argument because the 
Constitution does not guarantee the right to travel by any 
particular form of transportation . . . . Gilmore does not possess a 
fundamental right to travel by airplane even though it is the most 
convenient mode of travel for him.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As to the comment regarding the confiscation of items that are not 
a security threat such as illegal drugs, the purpose of TSA screening 
is to prevent weapons, explosives, and other items that could pose a 
security threat (prohibited items) from being carried into the sterile 
area of the airport or onboard an aircraft in order to ensure the 
freedom of movement for people and commerce. 49 CFR 1540.111. TSA's 
mission has not changed. TSOs do not search for other illegal items. 
When searching for prohibited items, however, it is not unusual for 
TSOs to uncover items that may be evidence of criminal activity. When 
that happens, the TSO turns such matters over to law enforcement 
officers to resolve, consistent with applicable criminal statutes. TSOs 
do not take possession of such items. In addition, once an anomaly is 
detected by AIT, or a metal object is detected by a WTMD, or either 
screening system misalarms, additional screening must take place to 
determine whether there is an item, and if so, if the item detected is 
a threat to aviation security. As the court in Hartwell noted, ``Even 
assuming that the sole purpose of the checkpoint was to search only for 
weapons or explosives, the fruits of the search need not be suppressed 
so long as the search itself was permissible. . . . Since the object in 
Hartwell's pocket could have been a small knife or bit of plastic 
explosives, the TSA agents were justified in examining it.'' \61\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \61\ Hartwell, 436 F.3d at 181 n.13. See also Marquez, 410 F.3d 
at 617 (``The screening at issue here is not unreasonable simply 
because it revealed that Marquez was carrying cocaine rather than C-
4 explosives.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA's pat-down procedures are designed to ensure that any touching 
of the body by a TSO is minimally intrusive while effectively screening 
for prohibited items. A TSO does not touch a passenger's body unless 
necessary to resolve an AIT alarm, or unless the passenger has opted 
for a pat-down, and the procedures are largely similar to those 
employed to resolve WTMD alarms. Touching of the body to perform this 
essential security function is fully within the scope of TSA's 
authority, and TSA's procedures are consistent with civil and criminal 
state laws. Sexual molestation or inappropriate touching of a passenger 
by an employee is strictly prohibited and TSA has procedures in place 
to investigate any allegations of such conduct thoroughly. TSA takes 
all allegations of misconduct seriously.
    Passengers who believe they have experienced unprofessional conduct 
at a security checkpoint may request to speak to a supervisor at the 
checkpoint or write to the TSA Contact Center at [email protected]. Passengers who believe they have been subject to 
discriminatory treatment at the checkpoint may file a complaint with 
TSA's Office of Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler 
Engagement (OCRL/OTE) at [email protected], or submit an online 
complaint at https://www.tsa.gov/contact-center/form/complaints.\62\ 
The Office of Inspection, in addition to OCRL/OTE and management, may 
investigate misconduct allegations. Travelers may also file 
discrimination complaints concerns with the DHS Office for Civil Rights 
and Civil Liberties (CRCL) via CRCL's Web site at http://www.dhs.gov/complaints. In addition, as discussed further below, TSA has amended 
its screening procedures to modify the pat-down used when necessary to 
screen children age 12 and under and adults age 75 and older and has 
reduced the instances where such passengers would be subject to a pat-
down.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \62\ More information on TSA Civil Rights is available at 
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support/civil-rights.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

J. Evolving Threats to Security

    Comments: Commenters also addressed the evolving threats to 
aviation security discussed by TSA in the NPRM. Some commenters stated 
that TSA's screening efforts are not linked to the decrease in 
aircraft-related terror attempts since September 11, 2001. For example, 
individual commenters and a non-profit organization stated that the 
threat attempts listed in the NPRM were thwarted by intelligence 
efforts, not TSA screening. Other individual commenters, however, 
supported TSA's efforts to deploy tools like AIT scanners to detect and 
deter future attacks. Individual commenters credited secured cockpits 
and stricter policies for cockpit access with preventing terrorist 
attacks on commercial airlines since September 11, 2001. Furthermore, a 
few individual commenters suggested that in addition to enhanced 
cockpit security, passengers' awareness and willingness to fight back 
deters terrorists from targeting planes.
    Several commenters discussed the evolving threat from nonmetallic 
explosives. A few individual commenters suggested that TSA's response 
to the increased threat of nonmetallic explosives is not sustainable 
because terrorists will find other ways to hide devices. A few 
individual commenters disagreed with TSA's focus on nonmetallic 
threats, because these types of weapons have been used for several 
decades.

[[Page 11375]]

    A few individual commenters suggested that the long lines at 
checkpoints, which the commenters stated are caused by TSA screening, 
are more attractive targets to terrorists than airplanes. Lastly, 
several individual commenters stated there is no evidence indicating 
that terrorist threats similar in magnitude to September 11, 2001, are 
increasing.
    TSA Response: TSA agrees that the threat to aviation security by 
terrorists continues to evolve as terrorists test current security 
measures to uncover vulnerabilities to exploit. Terrorist groups remain 
focused on attacking commercial aviation. The primary threat from these 
groups is from explosive devices, as we have seen in incidents 
originating abroad, such as the non-metallic bomb used by the Christmas 
Day bomber in 2009, the toner cartridge printer bombs from Yemen placed 
on two cargo aircraft destined for Chicago in 2011, and the improved 
``next generation'' underwear bomb also from Yemen, recovered by a 
foreign intelligence service in April 2012. The incidents abroad inform 
us of terrorists' intentions and capabilities, and are lessons that TSA 
must learn from to prevent terrorists from attempting such an act here. 
These examples show that terrorists continue to attack aviation, are 
capable of constructing non-metallic explosive devices, and continue to 
develop new ways to do so. Open source information indicates that 
terrorists continue to intend violence against aviation within the 
United States. TSA does not agree that intelligence reporting alone is 
responsible for thwarting terrorist threats. TSA agrees that 
improvements in intelligence gathering and sharing such information, 
along with other layers of security, including as mentioned in the 
comments, hardened cockpit doors and assistance from passengers, 
contribute greatly to aviation security. The combination of security 
layers, both seen and unseen, provides the best opportunity to detect 
and deter a terrorist attack.
    TSA also agrees that security procedures and equipment must 
continue to evolve as the threat evolves. As discussed above, AIT is 
the most effective technology currently available to detect both 
metallic and nonmetallic threats, both explosive and non-explosive, 
concealed under passenger clothing, TSA continues to research and test 
new equipment and procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats.
    TSA agrees that long lines at the checkpoints could pose a security 
risk and has taken steps to address long lines by monitoring 
throughput. However, TSA remains focused on the fundamentals of 
security, and strives to strike a balance between security 
effectiveness and line efficiency. Passengers can obtain information 
before they leave for the airport on what items are prohibited; 
acceptable ID; rules for liquids, gels and aerosols; and traveling with 
children. Guidance for travelers with disabilities, medical conditions 
or medical devices, tips for dressing and packing, and information on 
traveling with food and gifts is provided. In addition, as noted in the 
NPRM, the Web site contains instructions on AIT screening procedures. 
78 FR 18296. Preparing in advance for security screening and following 
the instructions of the TSOs are the most effective ways to reduce 
lines at the checkpoint.

K. TSA's Layers of Security

    Comments: Commenters addressed the TSA layers of security discussed 
in the NPRM. A privacy advocacy group suggested that the layered 
approach discussed by TSA is not supported by data and, therefore, does 
not justify the need for AIT. The commenter also recommended that TSA 
revise the layered approach so weaknesses in security can be 
identified. Furthermore, a few commenters suggested that TSA focus on 
other security methods, such as profiling, interviewing, and ``Pre-
check'' screening programs to identify dangerous individuals. An 
individual stated that the efficacy of AIT screening has not been 
scientifically proven. The commenter further suggested that since there 
are other approaches used by TSA to identify potential threats, AIT 
would be most useful as a secondary screening method instead of as the 
primary screening method. A professional association, however, stated 
that because of the advanced methodologies of adversaries, technologies 
like AIT scanners are needed to secure air travel. The commenter 
suggested that techniques involving human intervention, such as 
Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques, the Behavioral 
Detection Officer program, and passenger screening canines would also 
be useful. Many commenters mentioned their support for the use of 
racial profiling tactics instead of AIT, and argued that such measures 
would be more efficient and effective.
    An advocacy group alleged that TSA's ``trusted traveler program'' 
approach would weaken security because it can eliminate entire classes 
of passengers from AIT screening. The commenter recommended that TSA 
consider other, less invasive and cost-effective screening procedures 
that would allow TSA to implement AIT as a secondary, rather than a 
primary, screening tool. Furthermore, the commenter suggested that TSA 
enhance layers of security by testing canine bomb detection, face 
recognition, and explosives residue machines, in an effort to reduce 
the need for AIT scanning.
    TSA Response: TSA believes that a comprehensive security system is 
the most effective means to address potential terrorist threats, since 
no single security measure may be sufficient by itself. TSA also agrees 
that ETD, behavior detection and passenger screening canine are 
valuable tools to address terrorist threats, and TSA uses these at 
airports.
    TSA does not agree with commenters that using AIT, as a secondary 
screening method, would be as effective as currently deployed. Limiting 
its use to resolve alarms of the WTMD, which can only detect metallic 
threats, would severely restrict our ability to prevent adversaries 
from smuggling non-metallic weapons and explosives on board an 
aircraft.
    As discussed above, AIT is the best technology currently available 
to detect both metallic and nonmetallic threats, and explosives as well 
as non-explosives. TSA has tested the effectiveness of the technology, 
and the equipment must meet TSA detection standards to be deployed in 
an airport. In addition, testing is conducted by the DHS Transportation 
Security Laboratory (TSL). The TSL Independent Test and Evaluation 
group provides certification and qualification tests and laboratory 
assessments on explosive detection capability. TSA procurement 
specifications require that any AIT system must meet certain thresholds 
with respect to the detection of items concealed under a person's 
clothing. While the detection requirements of AIT are classified, the 
procurement specifications state that any approved system must be 
sensitive enough to detect smaller items.
    Regarding the comments recommending racial profiling, 
transportation security screening is regulated by the Constitution, 
federal law, and applicable DHS and component policies setting forth 
the appropriate limits on use of race, ethnicity, and other 
characteristics. In addition, racial profiling is not an effective 
security measure and can easily be defeated. It is premised on the 
erroneous assumption that any particular individual of one race or 
ethnicity is more likely to engage in misconduct than any particular 
individual of another race or ethnicity. In addition to being 
ineffective,

[[Page 11376]]

profiling violates DHS policies and ultimately undermines the public 
trust. TSA disagrees with the commenter who wrote that TSA's trusted 
traveler program would weaken security. The TSA Pre[check]TM 
program is based on the premise that most passengers do not pose a risk 
to aviation security. This program will permit those passengers who 
voluntarily provide information for a security risk assessment to 
undergo expedited screening and allow TSOs to devote more time to 
screening unknown passengers.

L. Effectiveness of AIT Screening

    Comments: Many commenters made general statements that AIT scanners 
are not effective in addressing security threats. An individual 
commenter stated that because TSA has not released data regarding the 
effectiveness of AIT scanners and the number of prohibited items 
detected by AIT, the NPRM would not be taken seriously. Some 
commenters, including a privacy advocacy organization and a community 
organization, stated that TSA has not provided enough information about 
what AIT can detect. The commenter stated that the agency has not made 
a distinction between an ``anomaly'' and a ``threat.'' Commenters also 
stated that the use of AIT scanners makes air travel more vulnerable to 
terrorism.
    Many submissions discussed the efficacy of AIT to detect anomalies 
concealed under the clothing of a passenger. Some commenters stated 
that AIT scanners are not effective because they cannot detect items 
that are concealed under fake skin, under skin folds, or under shoes, 
implanted bombs, and objects hidden inside of a person. A few 
individuals stated that objects are not detected if concealed on the 
side of the body. A commenter stated that a passenger was able to bring 
an empty metal box concealed under clothing through AIT units without 
detection. The commenter believed that the metal box was not detected 
because the rate at which the AIT beams reflect off the metal is the 
same rate at which beams reflect the background. The commenter stated 
that if an object like the metal box were placed at the side of a body, 
the object beam reflection would look no different from the blackened 
background. According to another individual commenter, a peer-reviewed 
publication in the Journal of Homeland Security stated that explosives 
with low ``Z'' like plastics look like flesh to the scanner because 
flesh is also low ``Z.'' A few individual commenters referred to a 
video posted by a blogger that the commenters stated portrayed a man 
who was able to conceal objects (both metal and nonmetal) from an AIT 
scanner by sewing the objects into the lining of his shirt.
    Some commenters discussed the ability of AIT to detect plastic, 
powder, and liquid explosives. One individual commenter stated that a 
2007 government audit found that agents were able to pass through 
security checkpoints with explosives and bomb parts. Commenters stated 
that the explosives used by the ``underwear bomber'' and ``shoe 
bomber'' would not be detected by AIT. A commenter stated that a 2010 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report indicated that it remains 
unclear whether the AIT would have detected the weapon used in the 
December 2009 Christmas Day bomber incident based on the preliminary 
information GAO had received. An advocacy group also expressed concern 
that AIT scanners cannot detect pentaerythritol tetranitrate (the 
powder explosive the group states was used by the Christmas Day 
bomber), and claimed that this chemical continues to be used in other 
domestic and international terror attempts. An individual commenter 
alleged AIT could not detect explosives molded into specific shapes. 
Another individual commenter stated that since there are claims that 
AIT cannot detect powder explosives, AIT scanners are not fulfilling 
the statutory provision at 49 U.S.C. 44925 which TSA has used as 
justification for deploying AIT.
    An individual commenter suggested that, although the AIT scanners 
can adequately detect metal in firearms and concealed knives, security 
screening should also be able to detect explosives with negligible 
false negative rates and low false positive rates. The commenter 
recommended that a reasonable detection limit would be no lower than 20 
percent of the amount of the explosive needed to bring an airplane 
down. The commenter suggested that systems that detect significant 
quantities of explosives or detonators should be used for screening 
baggage and items concealed under clothing.
    A few individuals expressed concern that because AIT on its own 
cannot differentiate between threatening objects and non-threatening 
objects, passengers carrying non-threatening objects are subject to 
more intrusive, secondary searches including pat-downs. A community 
organization stated that travelers of the Sikh religion are often 
subject to secondary searches even when the AIT scanner did not 
identify any anomalies. Similarly, an individual commenter stated that, 
although AIT scanners can detect anomalies, often times a pat-down 
could not resolve whether the anomaly is a threat. An individual 
commenter, however, remarked that continued use of AIT would reduce the 
number of pat-downs as well as enhance detection of nonmetallic 
weapons, because AIT is effective in detecting threats. The commenter 
suggested that AIT checkpoints be re-designed to minimize the level of 
intrusion and embarrassment associated with scanned images.
    Many commenters wrote that AIT scanners are no more effective at 
addressing security threats than other, less invasive screening 
methods. A few individual commenters and advocacy groups suggested that 
the NPRM has not adequately justified the ability of AIT to reduce 
significantly the threat of terror attacks on aircraft compared to 
alternative screening practices. Some individual commenters stated that 
the WTMD is more effective at detecting metallic items than AIT. A few 
of these individual commenters remarked that WTMD is as effective as 
AIT overall, but they preferred WTMD because it is less invasive than 
AIT. An advocacy group suggested that a cost-benefit analysis of AIT 
would certainly justify the scanners if they were effective in 
deterring terrorism compared to screening alternatives. An individual 
commenter also stated there is not enough evidence of increased threats 
using nonmetallic objects to justify the need for body scanners. The 
commenter explained that prior to AIT, nonmetallic objects were 
addressed by less-invasive means including WTMDs, bomb-sniffing dogs, 
Federal Air Marshals, and explosives detection machines. The commenter 
also stated that nonmetallic weapons that are small enough to conceal 
on the body do not pose a threat. One individual commenter, however, 
discussed examples where the use of the AIT scanner was instrumental in 
identifying weapons concealed under clothing. The commenter stated that 
there is no alternative technology that can assist in detecting 
explosives and other harmful objects that can be used to harm 
travelers.
    Many commenters, including a non-profit organization, an advocacy 
group, and individual commenters, made general statements that AIT 
scanners are ineffective because of reported high false positive rates. 
An individual commenter stated that travelers might be more accepting 
of the invasiveness of AIT scanners if TSA revealed data regarding the 
effectiveness of the technology (i.e., false positives and false 
positive rates). Several commenters, including a non-profit 
organization and a community organization, stated that

[[Page 11377]]

the false detection of non-threatening objects leads to pat-downs where 
passengers are subjected to unnecessary, invasive screening. An 
individual referenced incidents which, the commenter stated, caused 
passengers embarrassment when their medical device raised a false 
positive. An individual commenter argued that the high rate of false 
positives causes security checkpoint lines to move slowly, which 
subsequently requires TSA to use WTMDs to relieve the backup. A few 
individuals expressed concern regarding a false sense of security 
created for TSA officers and passengers by the large volume of false 
alarms caused by AIT scanners. The commenters concluded that this false 
sense of security weakens security. Similarly, an individual commenter 
remarked that the process of responding to false positives (searching 
for non-threatening objects) takes TSA's focus off identifying actual 
threats.
    An individual commenter stated that AIT scanners are not effective 
in identifying a passenger with a threatening weapon because passengers 
can travel from airports or terminals that do not use AIT scanners. The 
commenter stated that passengers could also avoid detection by placing 
a weapon on a companion passenger under 12 years of age or on a pet. 
The commenter also stated that AIT scanners are ineffective at making 
air travel safer because the long lines make passengers more vulnerable 
to terror attacks. An individual commenter, however, wrote that the AIT 
scanners are more effective as a deterrent to terrorists than random 
pat-downs or profiling because of the expectation that the AIT will 
scan all passengers entering the sterile area.
    TSA Response: TSA cannot fully address the specific detection 
capabilities of AIT in the final rule, because much of the information 
is classified. As explained in the NPRM, AIT is able to detect both 
metallic and nonmetallic items concealed under an individual's 
clothing. The NPRM describes some of the items concealed under clothing 
that have been detected by AIT. 78 FR 18297. AIT equipment must meet 
detection specifications and overall performance standards established 
by TSA. The AIT machines are tested regularly to ensure that the 
detection capabilities and performance standards are maintained. After 
years of testing and operational experience at the airport, TSA 
maintains that AIT provides the best opportunity currently available to 
detect both metallic and nonmetallic threats concealed under a person's 
clothing. TSA procurement specifications require that any AIT system 
must meet certain thresholds with respect to the detection of items 
concealed under a person's clothing. While the detection requirements 
of AIT are classified, the procurement specifications require that any 
approved system be sensitive enough to detect smaller items. Prior to 
deployment, the machines are tested in the laboratory and in the field 
to certify that the detection standards are met. In addition, the DHS 
Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL) also tests the equipment to 
verify detection capability. After deployment, testing continues as TSA 
regularly conducts both overt and covert detection tests. In addition, 
AIT detection capability has been tested by DHS and the GAO.
    The millimeter wave AIT equipment currently deployed at airports to 
screen passengers uses ATR software that enables the AIT automatically 
to identify irregularities on passengers using imaging analysis 
techniques based on contour, pattern, and shape. The AIT is designed to 
detect irregularities concealed under clothing; therefore, commenters 
are correct that it may detect items that do not pose a threat. 
Commenters also are correct that in order to determine whether AIT has 
alarmed on a threat item, a TSO will conduct further screening at the 
location where the AIT has indicated that there is an anomaly, thereby 
eliminating the need to pat-down the entire body. Generally, a 
passenger is only touched if an anomaly is indicated by AIT, and only 
the part of the body where the machine has indicated an anomaly is 
located is touched during the pat-down. At times, ETD or other forms of 
additional screening may be employed to resolve an alarm and to clear a 
passenger for entry into the sterile area after AIT screening. 
Passengers are advised to avoid wearing clothing with large metal 
embellishments and large metal jewelry and to remove all items in their 
pockets to reduce the possibility that the AIT will alarm on innocuous 
items.
    TSA is aware of the audits conducted by the GAO on the 
effectiveness of screening measures. However, AIT was not in use at the 
checkpoint when the GAO tested security procedures described in the 
2007 report cited by a commenter.\63\ The 2010 report cited by a 
commenter did not contain any recommendations regarding the use of AIT, 
but did state that a cost/benefit analysis would be beneficial.\64\ The 
RIA includes an extensive analysis of the costs of AIT and a 
qualitative discussion of its benefits. In addition, the RIA discusses 
the alternatives to AIT considered by TSA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \63\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, ``Aviation Security 
Vulnerabilities Exposed Through covert Testing of TSA's Passenger 
Screening Process,'' GAO-08-48T (Nov. 15, 2007).
    \64\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, ``Aviation Security 
TSA is Increasing Procurement and Deployment of the Advanced Imaging 
Technology, but Challenges to This Effort and Other Areas of 
Aviation Security Remain,'' GAO-10-484T (Mar. 17, 2010).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA disagrees with the comments alleging that because there is no 
direct evidence that AIT has prevented a terrorist attack on its own, 
the technology is not effective. As the Supreme Court pointed out in 
rejecting a similar argument in Von Raab, the validity of a screening 
program does not turn on ``whether significant numbers of putative air 
pirates are actually discovered by the searches conducted under the 
program.'' Given the government's interest ``in deterring highly 
hazardous conduct,'' the Supreme Court emphasized, ``a low incidence of 
such conduct, far from impugning the validity of the scheme . . . is 
more logically viewed as a hallmark of success.'' 489 U.S. at 675 
n.3.\65\ In Corbett, the Court of Appeals upheld the use of AIT and 
found that ``the scanners effectively reduce the risk of air terrorism 
. . . the Fourth Amendment does not require that a suspicionless search 
be fool-proof or yield exacting results.'' \66\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \65\ See also MacWade v. Kelly, 460 F.3d 260, 274 (2d Cir. 2006) 
(holding that the deterrent effect of an anti-terrorism screening 
program in the New York subway system ``need not be reduced to a 
quotient'' to satisfy 4th Amendment balancing.'') and Cassidy v. 
Chertoff, 471 F.3d 67, 83 (2d Cir. 2006) (government is not required 
to ``adduce a specific threat'' to ferry system before engaging in 
suspicionless searches).
    \66\ Corbett, 767 F.3d at 1181.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the fact that AIT, or any single security measure, may not 
be completely foolproof does not mean that it is ineffective and should 
not be used at all. A discussion of the alternatives to AIT considered 
by TSA is included in the RIA. TSA has always maintained that AIT is 
the best technology currently available to detect the threat of 
nonmetallic and other dangerous items and that a comprehensive security 
system is the best means to detect and deter terrorist attacks as no 
single layer by itself, including AIT, may be sufficient. Accordingly, 
TSA agrees with commenters that other security measures, including 
those mentioned in the comments such as canine, Federal Air Marshalls, 
and explosive detection systems, should also be deployed to increase 
the chance that a threat will be detected. TSA does in fact employ all 
of those measures. However, TSA does not

[[Page 11378]]

agree that any of those measures should replace AIT because AIT 
provides stand-alone value as well.
    In response to a comment regarding the redesign of the checkpoint 
to minimize embarrassment of passengers during the screening process, 
TSA points out that since May 2013, TSA has only deployed AIT with ATR 
software at the airport. ATR eliminates the individual image and 
produces a generic outline that is visible to the passenger and the 
TSO. In addition, TSA offers passengers who must undergo a pat-down the 
opportunity to have the pat-down conducted in a private screening 
location that is not visible to the traveling public.
    Currently there are approximately 793AIT machines located at almost 
157 airports nationwide. Given limited resources, TSA uses a risk-based 
approach to deploy AIT and continues to assess and test ``next 
generation'' AIT systems, which TSA anticipates will improve anomaly 
detection capability, decrease processing time, and better suit the 
physical constraints of airport checkpoints.

M. Screening Measures Used in Other Countries

    Comments: Commenters discussed screening measures used in foreign 
countries. The majority of these comments recommended that TSA consider 
implementing a screening system similar to the one used by Israel. In 
addition to individual commenters, a privacy advocacy group stated that 
in 2011 the European Union (EU) issued a ruling banning the use of 
backscatter body scanners in all airports; that Italy discontinued its 
use of millimeter wave scanners because they were found to be slow and 
ineffective; and that Germany and Ireland discontinued use of AIT 
because of concerns regarding efficacy. A few individual commenters 
stated that the AIT scanners were removed from other countries because 
of health and safety concerns.
    TSA Response: AIT is used in airports and mass transit systems in 
many countries, including in Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, 
Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.\67\ TSA works directly with foreign 
governments and through the International Civil Aviation Organization 
(ICAO) to share information on AIT as well as other security 
measures.\68\ TSA continues to believe that AIT provides the most 
effective technology currently available to detect metallic and 
nonmetallic threats. As was explained in the NPRM and discussed below, 
AIT has been tested for safety by both TSA and independent entities. 
The results confirm that AIT is safe for individuals being screened, 
equipment operators, and bystanders. See 78 FR 18294-18296.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \67\ http://science.howstuffworks.com/millimeter-wave-scanner4.htm; http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-paid-full-body-scanners-nigeria-s-four-international-airports-2007.
    \68\ ICAO recognizes that AIT may be used as a primary screening 
measure for passengers. ICAO ``Aviation Security Manual,'' Doc 8973/
8 Restricted (2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA is aware that the European Commission adopted a legal framework 
on security scanners.\69\ That framework states that the use of 
security scanners is optional, and that only security scanners which do 
not use ionizing radiation can be deployed and used for passenger 
screening. It also specifies that the scanners shall not store, retain, 
copy, print, or retrieve images. However, the Commission also found 
that ``[s]ecurity scanners are an effective method of screening 
passengers as they are capable of detecting both metallic and non-
metallic items carried on a person. The scanner technology is 
developing rapidly and has the potential to significantly reduce the 
need for manual searches (``pat downs'') applied to passengers, crews 
and airport staff.'' \70\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \69\ European Commission, Press Release, ``Aviation Security: 
Commission Adopts New Rules on the Use of Security Scanners at 
European Airports,'' Brussels, Belgium (Nov. 14, 2011). The 
countries referenced by several commenters (Germany, Ireland, and 
Italy) are members of the European Union.
    \70\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

N. Laboratory and Operational Testing of AIT Equipment

    Comments: Some submissions discussed testing of AIT scanners for 
operational effectiveness. Several commenters stated that no testing 
has been conducted by independent parties, or they expressed concern 
that TSA did not publicly release the results of AIT equipment testing. 
A few individual commenters objected to having TSA test the scanners on 
the traveling public. An individual commenter suggested that validation 
tests should include evidence of attempts to defeat a screening 
technique and recommended that if the results indicate that AIT is less 
effective for screening than other devices, TSA should discontinue use 
of AIT in favor of technology that the results favor.
    An individual commenter stated the need for long-term studies, 
including potential effects of the AIT equipment if it were to 
malfunction, become ``out of spec,'' or suffer from poor maintenance.
    TSA Response: The FAA began testing AIT when it was responsible for 
passenger screening at airports prior to the creation of TSA. TSA 
continued laboratory testing of AIT as the threat from nonmetallic 
substances increased. To better assess the application of AIT to the 
airport environment, TSA conducted limited field trials of different 
types of AIT equipment at several airports. Throughout 2007 and 2008, 
AIT was piloted in the secondary position for these trials. In 2009, in 
response to the Christmas Day bomber, TSA began to evaluate using AIT 
in the primary screening position since there are no other currently 
deployed technologies in the primary screening position that can detect 
nonmetallic threats concealed under a passenger's clothing. When 
conducting tests both in the laboratory and in the field, TSA evaluated 
the equipment for safety, detection capability, operational efficiency, 
and passenger impact. Because of the successful results observed during 
testing and the need to address the threat from nonmetallic explosives 
concealed under clothing, TSA decided to procure AIT units for use in 
the primary position at airport checkpoints.
    All of the AIT units are regularly inspected by the manufacturer to 
ensure that they operate effectively and meet TSA specifications. In 
addition, the units are tested each day prior to use at the checkpoint. 
If the equipment does not meet operational specifications, it cannot be 
used.
    The GAO released a report, ``Advanced Imaging Technology: TSA Needs 
Additional Information before Procuring Next-Generation Systems,'' in 
March 2014 describing the types of tests TSA conducts on AIT.\71\ As 
explained in the report, TSA conducts the following five tests to 
evaluate the performance of AIT equipment: (1) Qualification testing in 
a laboratory setting at the TSA Systems Integration Facility to 
evaluate the technology's capabilities against TSA's procurement 
specification and detection standard to include testing of false alarm 
rates; (2) Operational testing at airports to evaluate system 
effectiveness and suitability for the airport environment; (3) Covert 
testing to identify vulnerabilities in the technology, operator use, 
and TSO compliance with procedures; (4) Performance Assessments to test 
TSO compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); and (5) 
Checkpoint drills to assess TSO compliance with SOPs and ability to 
resolve anomalies

[[Page 11379]]

identified by AIT.\72\ Qualification testing is conducted when a 
technology is first considered for deployment and for subsequent 
upgrades to the technology. The TSL also conducts certification testing 
on detection capability. In addition to these tests, the actual units 
are subjected to a factory acceptance test at the manufacturer's 
facility and a site acceptance test at the airport. TSA also tests the 
units for radiation exposure as described in the NPRM and in response 
to additional comments described below. Covert testing is also 
conducted by the Inspector General of DHS and GAO.\73\ TSA studies the 
results of laboratory and covert tests closely, and modifies procedures 
as appropriate. TSA believes that the testing described above 
adequately supports the use of AIT as a primary screening mechanism.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \71\ U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to 
Congressional Requesters, ``Advanced Imaging Technology: TSA Needs 
Additional Information before Procuring Next-Generation Systems,'' 
GAO-14-357, March 2014.
    \72\ The report also contained recommendations to improve TSO 
performance on AIT and resource effectiveness, and to ensure that 
next generation AIT units meet mission needs. TSA generally 
concurred in the recommendations and noted that it will review its 
screening assessment programs, monitor, update and report efforts to 
capture operational data on screening, improve its assessment of 
overall effectiveness of next-generation AIT and complete a more 
comprehensive technology roadmap.
    \73\ The Inspector General of DHS recently conducted covert 
testing of TSA aviation security screening and the Secretary has 
directed TSA to undertake a number of steps to enhance security 
capabilities and techniques. See, e.g., Statement by Secretary Jeh 
C. Johnson On Inspector General Findings on TSA Security Screening, 
Press Release, Jun. 1, 2015. TSA's response to the Inspector 
General's findings and the changes TSA has implemented to address 
those findings were discussed in the testimony of TSA Administrator, 
Peter V. Neffenger, before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 
Subcommittee on Homeland Security on Sep. 29, 2015. See https://www.tsa.gov/news/testimony/2015/09/29/testimony-tsa-efforts-address-oig-findings.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

O. Radiation Exposure

    Comments: The effects of radiation associated with AIT use was also 
addressed by commenters. A professional association stated its belief 
that AIT emissions present a negligible health risk to passengers, 
airline crewmembers, airport employees, and TSA staff. Numerous 
commenters, however, expressed concern regarding exposure to radiation. 
Some of these commenters suggested that no dose of radiation is safe. 
Many individual commenters and an advocacy group expressed concern 
about the radiation from backscatter scanners, which they stated could 
lead to the development of cancer. Many individuals also warned that 
exposure to millimeter wave radiation could hold the potential for 
long-term health effects and that additional studies are needed. Some 
commenters concluded that, even if the current x-ray scanners were 
removed, the proposed rule would not prevent their reintroduction 
should software become available to address privacy issues.
    Several commenters, including a privacy advocacy organization, a 
non-profit organization, and individual commenters, cautioned that TSA 
screeners could be at risk and should be provided with dosimeters to 
ensure that their exposure is within acceptable limits. An individual 
commenter stated that, although TSA claimed that the radiation scan 
only affects the surface of the skin, skin cancer is the largest 
incidence of cancer in the world, and it is caused by radiation 
exposure on the skin. Another commenter stated that eyes are 
particularly susceptible to radiation. A few individuals suggested that 
imaging technology using radiation should not be used at all since 
alternatives exist. Other commenters stated that the question that 
needs to be asked with respect to the safety of AIT scanning is not 
whether the increase in deaths is below some arbitrary value, but 
whether the lives saved through avoiding a terrorist attack are greater 
than the lives lost through an increased incidence of cancer or other 
diseases arising from the use of AIT scanners. Lastly, a few 
individuals mentioned that because of their exposure to radiation for 
medical treatment, they are not comfortable getting further, 
unnecessary exposure from AIT scanners.
    TSA Response: In compliance with the statutory requirement that all 
AIT machines used for screening be equipped with and employ ATR 
software, TSA removed the general-use backscatter AIT units from the 
checkpoint.\74\ TSA notes that it is adopting the statutory requirement 
mandating the use of ATR software on AIT used to conduct screening in 
the regulatory text.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \74\ 49 U.S.C. 44901(l).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Contrary to assertions by some commenters and as discussed in the 
NPRM, general-use backscatter units were independently evaluated and 
found to be within national standards for acceptable radiation exposure 
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Center for Devices and 
Radiological Health (CDRH), the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and 
the U.S. Army Public Health Command.\75\ A report issued by the DHS 
Office of Inspector General in 2012 confirms that prior to the 
deployment of general-use backscatter units, TSA conducted four 
radiation safety assessments and the results of each study concluded 
that the level of radiation emitted was below ANSI's acceptable 
limits.\76\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \75\ 78 FR 18295. See also https://www.tsa.gov/FOIA.
    \76\ Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector 
General, ``Transportation Security Administration's Use of 
Backscatter Units,'' OIG-12-38, Feb. 2012 at p. 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, in June 2013, the American Association of Physicists 
in Medicine released the results of an independent study of the 
general-use backscatter units previously used by TSA for screening 
passengers.\77\ The study measured exposures across multiple scanners 
in both the factory and in real-time use at airports, including organ 
doses. This study also found that radiation doses were below the 
ionizing radiation limits set by the American National Standards 
Institute and Health Physics Society (ANSI/HPS) and were safe for 
employees and passengers, including children, pregnant women, frequent 
flyers and individuals with medical implants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \77\ ``Radiation Dose from Airport Scanners,'' American 
Association of Physicists in Medicine, AAPM Report No. 217 (2013). 
Available at http://www.aapm.org/pubs/reports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the NPRM, TSA noted that DHS had requested the National 
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to review previous 
studies as well as current processes to estimate radiation exposure 
resulting from the general-use backscatter equipment. That study was 
released in October 2015 and confirms that radiation doses did not 
exceed the ANSI/HPS standard.\78\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \78\ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 
Airport Passenger Screening Using Backscatter X-Ray Machines: 
Compliance with Standards (2015), available at http://www.nap.edu/21710.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As explained in the NPRM, the ANSI/HPS standard takes into 
consideration individuals who may be more susceptible to radiation 
health effects, such as pregnant women, children, and persons who 
receive radiation treatments, as well as the general exposure to 
ionizing radiation present in the environment. 78 FR 18295. In fact, 
the radiation emissions from the general-use backscatter equipment were 
so low that they were below the environmental radiation emissions that 
individuals are exposed to every day, and individuals would have to be 
screened more than 200 times a year to exceed the negligible individual 
dose, which is still below the ANSI/HPS standard.\79\ 78 FR 18296.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \79\ TSA disagrees with the comments that attempted to link AIT 
to skin cancer, for the reasons explained in this preamble. TSA 
notes that according to the Stanford Medicine Cancer Institute, 
ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer. 
http://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/cancer/skin-cancer/causes-skin-cancer/ultraviolet-radiation.html. There is no evidence 
that AIT is related to the incidence of skin cancer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 11380]]

    As explained in the NPRM, the millimeter wave equipment uses non-
ionizing radio frequency energy. 78 FR 18294-18295. The millimeter wave 
equipment used by TSA must comply with the 2005 Institute of Electrical 
and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Standard for Safety Levels with Respect 
to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (IEEE Std. 
C95.1TM--2005) as well as the International Commission on 
Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to 
Time-Varying Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields, Health 
Physics 74(4); 494-522, published April 1998. The equipment also is 
consistent with Federal Communications Commission and Health Canada 
Safety Code regulations. 78 FR 18295. The FDA confirmed that millimeter 
wave security systems that comply with the IEEE 
Std.C95.1TM--2005 cause no known health effects.\80\ TSA has 
posted a compilation of emission safety reports of the millimeter wave 
technology system.\81\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \80\ FDA, ``Products for Security Screening of People,'' 
available at http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/SecuritySystems/ucm227201.htm.
    \81\ https://www.tsa.gov/FOIA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA implemented safety protocols to ensure that AIT is safe for 
passengers and the TSA workforce. When backscatter machines were still 
in use, each individual AIT machine was tested once a year to verify 
that radiation emitted fell within the national safety standards. 
Regular testing is also conducted on checkpoint machines that use x-ray 
technology, such as baggage scanners. This testing is performed by the 
manufacturers or maintenance providers in accordance with their TSA 
contracts. Because of the regular testing of TSA equipment, there is no 
need for operators to wear dosimeters to measure radiation emissions. 
In the event that a radiation test was to reveal that the emission was 
above the standard, the machine would be immediately taken out of 
service and TSA would conduct a system-wide review.

P. Other Health and Safety Issues

    Comments: Commenters also mentioned other safety and health 
concerns related to AIT. Numerous individual commenters generally 
stated that they consider the safety of the AIT scanners to be 
uncertain and that they are concerned that AIT is harmful to their 
health. Some individuals suggested that the machines amount to a 
medical examination performed by someone who is not a trained medical 
professional. A few individual commenters expressed concern about the 
maintenance and calibration of the scanners. According to another 
individual commenter, the AIT scanners and pat-downs are a physical and 
psychological attack on an individual, and the passenger must restrain 
himself or herself from natural instincts to move away from harmful 
physical contact to ensure their privacy and to avoid health risks.
    TSA Response: All AIT units are tested for safety, detection 
capability, operational efficiency, and impact on passengers prior to 
deployment. The millimeter wave units currently in use at the airports 
do not use ionizing radiation. Federal law requires that all AIT units 
be equipped with ATR software, which does not produce an individual 
image, only a generic outline that is visible on the machine. TSA 
permits passengers generally to opt out of AIT screening and receive a 
thorough pat-down instead. TSA has also instituted the TSA 
Pre[check]TM program, which allows known and trusted 
travelers an opportunity to undergo expedited screening, which 
sometimes includes screening by WTMD. This program increases throughput 
(among other changes) and improves the screening experience of 
frequent, trusted travelers. Of course, in order to maintain comparable 
security, no passenger is guaranteed expedited screening, and program 
participants may be required to undergo regular screening on a random 
basis.

Q. Backscatter Technology

    Comments: Some submissions specifically addressed backscatter 
technology. Many individual commenters opposed the use of backscatter 
technology because of the alleged health impact. According to several 
commenters, x-ray radiation is cumulative, and the effects over a 
lifetime are not well known. A few individual commenters added that the 
people who may be most at risk are TSA personnel working near the 
scanners and frequent flyers, who are already exposed to radiation from 
high altitude flying. In addition, another individual commenter 
suggested that, even if the risk to one individual is small, when the 
machines are used on hundreds of millions of people, the probability 
that some set of individuals acquire cancer is significant.
    One commenter warned that ionizing radiation might cause 
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage that leads to carcinogenesis and 
that a model used by the health physics community would predict the 
probability of a fatal cancer about the same as the probability of 
being killed by a terrorist in an airplane. However, the commenter 
expressed the belief that the real danger is very high local radiation 
exposures if the mechanical scanning mechanism and associated systems 
for shutting off the x-ray beam fail. Another individual disputed TSA's 
statement that independent tests had been conducted on backscatter 
technology, and the commenter stated that subsequent information showed 
that the tests were flawed, their results were misused, or they were 
not conducted by truly independent entities.
    A few commenters, including an individual commenter and a privacy 
advocacy group, remarked on the ineffectiveness of backscatter 
machines. One of them suggested that the x-ray beam might not be able 
to distinguish between explosives and tissue when an explosive package 
is shaped to fit in with natural body contours. An individual commenter 
stated that even though TSA is removing backscatter scanners from 
airports, until the process is complete, they would continue to be used 
at some airports. Another individual recommended that TSA investigate 
the bad management decision that led to a waste of tax dollars on what 
the commenter described as an obviously unacceptable technology. 
Another commenter suggested that backscatter technology was adopted 
because of lobbying by politically connected individuals with a 
financial interest in the machines. A few commenters discussed TSA's 
selection to use Rapiscan as the vendor for AIT scanners. According to 
some individual commenters, the choice of using Rapiscan as the vendor 
is inappropriate because a former DHS Secretary was reported to have 
lobbied for Rapiscan and AIT prior to his departure from the agency.
    TSA Response: As discussed above, the general-use backscatter AIT 
equipment deployed by TSA was tested for safety, detection capability, 
operational efficiency, and passenger impact before deployment.\82\ 
Independent testing confirmed that the x-ray emissions from the 
general-use backscatter units were so low as to

[[Page 11381]]

present a negligible risk to passengers, airline crew, airport 
employees, and TSA employees. 78 FR 18294-18296. Any future backscatter 
AIT units would also be tested to ensure compliance with applicable 
safety standards.
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    \82\ All general-use backscatter AIT units were removed from 
screening checkpoints as of May 16, 2013, to comply with the 
statutory requirement that any AIT used to screen passengers be 
equipped with and employ ATR software. 49 U.S.C. 44901(l). The 
backscatter AIT units in use at the time were unable to employ ATR 
software.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regarding the marginal effects of x-ray radiation, as TSA noted in 
the NPRM, 78 FR 18295-18296, the ANSI/HPS standard reflects the 
standard for a negligible individual dose of radiation established by 
the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements at 10 
microsieverts per year. Efforts to reduce radiation exposure below the 
negligible individual dose are not warranted because the risks 
associated with that level of exposure are so small as to be 
indistinguishable from the risks attendant to environmental radiation 
that individuals are exposed to every day. The level of radiation 
emitted by the Rapiscan Secure 1000 is so low that most passengers 
would not have exceeded even the negligible individual dose. The 
European Commission released a report conducted by the Scientific 
Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks on the risks 
related to the use of security scanners for passenger screening that 
use ionizing radiation such as the general-use backscatter AIT 
machines.\83\ The health effects of ionizing radiation include short-
term effects occurring as tissue damage. Such deterministic effects 
cannot result from the doses delivered by security scanners. In the 
long term, it found that the potential cancer risk cannot be estimated, 
but is likely to remain so low that it cannot be distinguished from the 
effects of other exposures including both ionizing radiation from other 
natural sources, and background risk due to other factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \83\ The SCENIHR is an independent committee that provides the 
European Commission with the scientific advice it needs when 
preparing policy and proposals relating to consumer safety, public 
health, and the environment. The committee is made up of external 
experts. See SCENIHR (Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly 
Identified Health Risks), Health effects of security scanners for 
passenger screening (based on X-ray technology), 26 April 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regarding commenters' concerns that ionizing radiation might cause 
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, as TSA noted in the NPRM, the 
annual dose limits in ANSI/HPS N43.17 are based on dose limit 
recommendations for the general public published by the National 
Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements in Report 116, 
``Limitations of Exposure to Ionizing Radiation.'' The dose limits were 
set with consideration given to individuals, such as pregnant women, 
children, and persons who receive radiation treatments, who may be more 
susceptible to radiation health effects. Further, the standard also 
takes into consideration the fact that individuals are continuously 
exposed to ionizing radiation from the environment. ANSI/HPS N43.17 
sets the maximum permissible dose of ionizing radiation from a general-
use system per security screening at 0.25 microsieverts. The standard 
also requires that individuals should not receive 250 microsieverts or 
more from a general-use x-ray security screening system in a year.
    Regarding comments about whether AIT can distinguish between 
explosives and tissue when an explosive package is shaped to fit in 
with natural body contours, the AIT equipment is designed and tested to 
find such items.
    Regarding comments about the procurement of backscatter technology 
and Rapiscan, all TSA acquisitions were in compliance with Federal 
procurement standards. TSA issued a competitive solicitation for 
companies to submit AIT machines for qualification testing, and while 
competitive pricing was submitted by two vendors, only Rapiscan was 
qualified and placed on the Qualified Product List before the planned 
award date of September 2009. The award was then made to Rapiscan for 
the initial order.

R. Millimeter Wave Technology

    Comments: Some submissions specifically addressed millimeter 
technology. Many commenters, including individual commenters and non-
profit organizations, stated that although TSA claims that millimeter 
wave scanners are safe, they were unconvinced. Several of these 
commenters stated TSA had not conducted long-term, independent testing 
of millimeter wave equipment. Others noted that the scanners still emit 
a form of radiation and may be harmful. A non-profit organization added 
that babies, small children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people 
with impaired immunity would be at a higher risk from non-ionizing 
radiation than others would. An individual commenter remarked that 
studies have shown a trend toward higher rates of brain and other 
tumors in those who use cell phones, which produce a similar form of 
non-ionizing radiation. Two other individuals suggested that millimeter 
wave exposure could be harmful to human DNA because of resonance 
effects.
    Although some commenters supported the use of millimeter wave 
technology over backscatter technology, an individual and an advocacy 
organization stated they were disinclined to take the government at its 
word with regard to health assurances because the government has been 
wrong before, including TSA assurances about Rapiscan machines. An 
individual commenter stated that millimeter wave machines are no more 
acceptable than other scanners, but those who must fly will choose them 
to avoid a pat-down.
    One individual commenter recommended another technology for 
detecting explosives--passive Terahertz (THz) imaging. According to the 
commenter, there would be no probing radiation, but the warm body emits 
sufficient THz radiation to form an image, with high explosives 
standing out in the image as a dark patch.
    TSA Response: As discussed in the NPRM, millimeter wave imaging 
technology used by TSA to screen passengers meets all known national 
and international health and safety standards. 78 FR 18295. Millimeter 
wave units are tested for electromagnetic emissions prior to 
acceptance. The FDA examined the exposure to non-ionizing 
electromagnetic energy and found that the short duration of screening, 
approximately 1.5 seconds, and the very low levels of emissions showed 
that the energy emitted by millimeter wave technology systems is 
approximately a thousand times less than the limit set by the Institute 
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). FDA evaluated the 
Millimeter Wave AIT to determine if the RF emissions met the safety 
levels established for the general public in C95.1-2005. The exposure a 
person receives during one scan at a worst-case distance of 10 cm from 
the inner wall of the unit is on the order of 1000 times less than the 
IEEE standard's limit for the public exposure. IEEE Std 95.1 defines 
general public as ``individuals of all ages and varying health status . 
. . Generally, unless specifically provided for as part of an RF safety 
program, the general public includes, but is not limited to, children, 
pregnant women, individuals with impaired thermoregulatory systems, 
individuals equipped with electronic medical devices, and persons using 
medications that may result in poor thermoregulatory system 
performance.'' [IEEE Std 95.1-2005, page 7, 3.1.26]. TSA has posted a 
report on its Web site that includes the evaluation performed by the 
FDA.\84\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \84\ ``Compilation of Emission Safety Reports on the L3 
Communications, Inc. ProVision 1000 Active Millimeter Wave Advanced 
Imaging Technology (AIT) System,'' Sept. 2012. See, www.dhs.gov/advanced-imaging-technology-documents.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 11382]]

    TSA is aware of the paper cited by commenters that reportedly found 
that THz radiation could affect biological function, but only under 
specific conditions and extended exposure. The paper, ``DNA Breathing 
Dynamics in the Presence of a Terahertz Field,'' was published by 
scientists from the Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear 
Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2010. The millimeter wave 
machines deployed by TSA do not operate in the THz range, or at the 
power level referenced in the paper, and the exposure time for 
passengers screened by AIT is approximately 1,000 times less than the 
exposure time referenced in the paper.
    TSA has evaluated other technologies to assess whether they are 
safe, meet all applicable government and industry standards, are 
effective against known and anticipated threats, and require the least 
disruption and intrusion on passenger privacy possible. For example, 
TSA has tested passive THz systems in the past and found that they were 
not effective in detecting explosive threats in an airport environment. 
Likewise, TSA considered Infrared technology but found that detection 
capability and operational effectiveness were limited. However, TSA 
continues to research and assess engineering developments and new 
technologies for use in the airport.

S. Concerns Regarding Privacy

    Comments: Many submissions addressed concerns related to privacy. 
Many individual commenters, a non-profit organization, and advocacy 
groups expressed the opinion that the devices should be called ``Nude 
Body Scanners'' or ``Naked Body Scanners'' to indicate specifically how 
TSA uses them, and other commenters preferred ``Electronic Strip 
Searches'' or ``virtual strip searches'' or ``nude-o-scopes.'' Numerous 
individuals insisted that AIT scanners violate an individual's right to 
privacy, that TSA's privacy safeguards are inadequate, and that the 
scanners should not be used on children. Some commenters stated that if 
scanners are viewing anything under a person's clothing, then that 
person's privacy is not being protected, because anything under the 
clothing is intentionally hidden and not meant to be viewed by man or 
machine. An advocacy group agreed that AIT defeats the privacy-
protecting function of clothing and allows an image of the unclothed 
person to be created. An individual commenter remarked that the problem 
with TSA's use of AIT for primary screening is it teaches people it is 
normal and acceptable for the government to use technology to look 
under their clothing. The commenter added that the body beneath one's 
clothing and the contents of one's pockets traditionally have been 
understood as among the most important and intimate zones of privacy.
    One commenter noted that passengers must reveal private medical 
conditions to TSA officers who are not trained in medicine, and others 
stated that investigating private details of passengers' bodies is 
deeply offensive and has no security value. A community organization 
agreed that privacy is invaded when a passenger is forced to share 
personal secrets that are not otherwise observable in public--
especially sensitive medical and gender identity issues. One commenter, 
however, expressed the opinion that over the years, TSA staff has 
become more respectful of individual passenger privacy.
    A privacy advocacy group pointed out that since January 2008, TSA 
has published four Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) regarding the 
agency's deployment of body scanners at U.S. airports. The commenter 
opined that all of these have failed to identify the numerous privacy 
risks to air travelers. An individual commenter suggested that TSA 
should be required to regularly report to Congress about its efforts to 
discover weaknesses in its mechanisms to protect the privacy of 
individuals scanned by its systems.
    Some submissions suggested other technologies and procedures for 
safeguarding privacy. Among the procedures recommended by one 
individual were: (1) Providing a generic image of all scanned 
passengers and (2) allowing a person to leave if selected for a manual 
search, provided the person exhibits no other suspicious behavior. One 
commenter suggested that if the AIT screening procedures detect 
potentially dangerous objects hidden in passengers' private areas, the 
passengers should be allowed to remove the suspicious objects, show 
them to TSA officers, and be rescreened using AIT. Another individual 
suggested developing technology to combat scanner fatigue, providing 
oversight in screening rooms, and addressing the threat of privacy or 
security breaches when the status of a passenger is relayed by two-way 
radio.
    TSA Response: As stated previously, Federal law requires that all 
AIT equipment used to screen passengers must be equipped with and 
employ the use of ATR. The ATR software produces a generic outline that 
is publicly displayed on the equipment. The use of ATR mitigates 
privacy concerns because there is no individual image of a passenger's 
body, only a generic outline that is the same for passengers based on 
gender. The AIT equipment used by TSA is not able to store, transmit, 
or print any images. After each passenger is screened using the AIT, 
the TSO clears the generic outline of any alarms so that the next 
passenger may be screened. Signs are posted at the checkpoint and 
information is available on TSA's Web site showing a sample of the ATR 
generic outline and advising passengers that they may decline AIT and 
receive a thorough pat-down. The court in Corbett found that the 
``scanners pose only a slight intrusion on an individual's privacy, 
especially in the light of the automated target recognition software 
installed in every scanner. The scanners now create only a generic 
outline of an individual, which greatly diminishes any invasion of 
privacy.'' \85\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \85\ Corbett, 767 F.3d at 1181.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA has posted information on AIT technologies and ATR on its Web 
site, and published a PIA in January 2008 with subsequent updates. TSA 
also conducted outreach with national press and privacy advocacy groups 
to discuss AIT. While most PIAs are required on information systems 
that collect information in identifiable form, which AIT does not, DHS 
nevertheless conducted PIAs on TSA's use of AIT. As explained in the 
PIA, ``the operating protocols of remote viewing for AIT machines that 
were not equipped with ATR software, coupled with no image retention, 
are strong privacy protections . . . ATR software provides even greater 
privacy protections by eliminating the human image . . . .'' \86\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \86\ Privacy Impact Assessment Update for TSA Advanced Imaging 
Technology, Jan. 25, 2011, www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy-pia-tsa-ait.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA disagrees with the alternate procedures suggested by some of 
the commenters. Federal courts have upheld TSA's procedure to require 
passengers to complete the screening process once it has been initiated 
by the passenger. As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 
explained in Aukai,

The constitutionality of an airport search, however, does not depend 
on consent . . . and requiring that a potential passenger be allowed 
to revoke consent to an ongoing airport security search makes little 
sense in a post-9/11 world. Such a rule would afford terrorists 
multiple opportunities to attempt to penetrate airport security by 
`electing not to fly' on the cusp of detection until a vulnerable 
portal is found. This rule would also allow terrorists a low-cost 
method of detecting systematic vulnerabilities in airport

[[Page 11383]]

security, knowledge that could be extremely valuable in planning 
future attacks.

U.S. v. Aukai, 497 F.3d 955, 960-61 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc) (internal 
citations omitted). Finally, TSA's procedures permit passengers 
generally to opt out of AIT screening and receive a thorough pat-down 
instead, which may be conducted in private and in the presence of a 
companion of the passenger's choosing.

T. Use of ATR Software

    Comments: Some submissions discussed TSA's use of ATR software. 
Numerous submissions from individual commenters remarked that even 
though ATR software displays a generic outline on the screen at the 
checkpoint, ATR does not eliminate air travelers' privacy concerns. 
Many of these commenters, including individuals and advocacy groups, 
expressed opposition to the use of ATR because, according to the 
commenters, ATR can be disabled and the scanners are capable of 
producing explicit, nude pictures that may be viewed by TSA staff. 
Individual commenters and an advocacy group stated that ATR does not 
alleviate concerns about the intrusiveness of scanning, its 
ineffectiveness, the violation of privacy, and possible health effects. 
A few individuals and a professional association, however, expressed 
support for the use of ATR because the technology helps mitigate 
passengers' privacy concerns. An individual commenter stated that TSA 
took a year longer than legally allowed to cease use of AIT scanners 
without ATR software.
    TSA Response: TSA's deployment of ATR software was completed in 
accordance with Federal law and before the established deadline. TSA 
agrees with commenters that the use of ATR software addresses privacy 
concerns since there is no individual image, and there is no need for a 
TSO to view an individual image. In addition, TSA believes that the ATR 
detection capability is commensurate to that of a TSO review and is 
likely faster, thereby decreasing the amount of time passengers must 
spend at the checkpoint. TSOs are not able to disable the software, and 
each AIT unit is delivered to the airport with software that precludes 
placing the unit into a mode that would allow TSOs to obtain 
unfiltered, passenger-specific images. Further, the equipment cannot 
store, transmit, or print individual images, and TSOs are not able to 
install or activate any such capability on the equipment.

U. Protection of Images

    Comments: Commenters also addressed the issue of image protection 
controls. Numerous individual commenters suggested that they were not 
convinced by TSA's assertions regarding image protection. Several 
individual commenters mentioned reports of incidents involving recorded 
and leaked images from scanners, such as the reported release of 35,000 
images created by a Rapiscan machine at a courthouse in Florida. Other 
individuals and advocacy groups warned that because the scanners have 
the capability to store and transmit images, at least some storage of 
images by TSA and viewing by others is likely. Some of these commenters 
alleged that TSA had falsely stated that previous imaging machines 
could not store, transmit, or print images.
    A privacy advocacy group pointed out that the scanners were 
designed to include Ethernet connectivity, Universal Serial Bus access, 
and hard disk storage, but the proposed rule does not include 
safeguards against storing, copying, or otherwise circulating images. 
An advocacy group added that the scanners are worse than a physical 
strip-search because they produce an image that can be stored 
indefinitely, transferred around the globe in seconds, and copied an 
infinite number of times without the copies degrading. According to an 
individual commenter, law enforcement officers can record images 
without the passenger's knowledge. Some commenters, including 
individuals and a privacy advocacy association, recommended that TSA 
clarify what happens to the images captured, who gets to see them, and 
whether the practice of deleting the image after each screening is 
absolute. A couple of individual commenters also suggested that TSA 
should show the public exactly how detailed the image seen in the 
screening room is, or allow passengers being scanned to observe the 
personnel monitoring the images. A few individuals, however, expressed 
support for TSA's efforts to protect passenger privacy by ensuring that 
the images are anonymous and are automatically deleted from the system 
after the remotely located security officer clears them.
    TSA Response: Federal law requires that all AIT equipment used to 
screen passengers be equipped with and employ ATR. TSA removed all AIT 
equipment that could not use ATR software by May 16, 2013, in advance 
of the statutory deadline. The ATR software does not produce an 
individual image but instead produces a generic outline that is 
publicly displayed on the equipment. A picture of the generic outline 
is posted at the checkpoint and on TSA's public Web site.\87\ 
Consequently, the individual image has been eliminated and there is no 
longer any need for a TSO in a remote location to view the image.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \87\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/travel-tips.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Initial versions of AIT were manufactured with storage and 
transmittal functions that TSA required manufacturers to disable prior 
to installation at airports. TSA confirmed that these functions were 
disabled during factory acceptance testing and site acceptance testing. 
The TSOs were not able to activate the functions. As explained in the 
NPRM, images were transmitted securely between the unit and the viewing 
room so they could not be lost, modified, or disclosed.\88\ The images 
produced were encrypted during this transmission and were completely 
deleted in the viewing room once the individual was cleared. The TSO in 
the viewing room was prohibited from bringing electronic devices such 
as cameras, cell phones or other recording devices into the viewing 
room. Violations of these procedures would subject the TSO to 
disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Note that the 
current versions of AIT do not have the capability to create an image; 
rather, they create internal code of the passenger using proprietary 
software that it analyzes and uses to show an alarm box on the generic 
outline, if appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \88\ 78 FR 18294.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The AIT devices at airports do not have the ability to transmit, 
store, or print images. While use of AIT in other locations, such as 
courthouses, was discussed in the comments, TSA does not operate AIT in 
those locations. AIT that is equipped with ATR software does not 
produce an individual image; even prior to the use of ATR, TSA's 
privacy safeguards, detailed in the NPRM, would have prevented the 
production, let alone release, of images described in the comments.\89\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \89\ 78 FR 18294.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. Conducting a Pat-Down as the Alternative to AIT

    Comments: Comments also addressed the use of the pat-down as the 
alternative to AIT. Many individual commenters and an advocacy group 
stressed the importance of having TSA retain the option to undergo a 
pat-down instead of AIT; although some pointed out that many passengers 
select the pat-down over AIT only because they consider it the lesser 
of two evils. Many

[[Page 11384]]

individual commenters expressed a strong preference for the pat-down; 
many also stated that they always request a pat-down in lieu of AIT 
screening. Some individual commenters, however, expressed strong 
opposition and criticism of current pat-down procedures. Some 
individual commenters expressed their preference to receive a pat-down, 
but stated that they feel ``punished'' by TSA staff when requesting the 
alternative screening measure. Several commenters opined that TSA 
screeners deliberately make the opt-out unpleasant so that passengers 
will use the AIT scanners.
    Submissions included remarks about the adequacy of information and 
signs at screening checkpoints about the AIT screening process. For 
example, multiple commenters stated that TSA currently lists the 
scanner as optional, in small print on an 11 x 14 inch poster at a 
crowded checkpoint. Commenters suggested there is a lack of adequate 
signage informing passengers of the right to opt-out of AIT. One of 
these individual commenters suggested that, in order to allow 
passengers adequate time to read about their right to opt-out of AIT, 
these signs should be posted throughout the security waiting area 
instead of in the area where passengers are being called forward for 
screening. A commenter stated that different airports want people to 
indicate that they are opting out at different times, but passengers 
have no way of knowing when to opt out. An advocacy group stated that 
notification of the opt-out option is not large enough and is placed in 
an area where passengers will not see the notice. A non-profit 
organization stated that passengers continue to report that signs are 
not available, even though TSA stated in the NPRM that detailed 
explanation of AIT procedures is available on its Web site, and signs 
are posted at checkpoints.
    Other individuals and a privacy advocacy group emphasized that the 
pat-down is not a reasonable alternative. Many individual commenters 
remarked that when they choose to opt-out of AIT, they are treated with 
suspicion, public ridicule, hostility, and retaliation (e.g., long and 
intentional delays) by the screener, and often are unable to monitor 
their belongings. Other individuals and advocacy groups objected to the 
manner in which some TSA staff conduct pat-downs, stating they are more 
invasive and intrusive than necessary to detect weapons or explosives.
    Numerous commenters, including a community organization, a non-
profit organization, and individual commenters, characterized the pat-
down as groping or sexual assault that involves touching or rubbing of 
the breasts and genitals of passengers. The pat-downs were referred to 
as rough, painful, invasive, offensive, intrusive, humiliating, 
demeaning, and degrading. Some commenters provided anecdotal accounts 
related to their experiences being screened by TSA. The majority of 
these comments referred to personal accounts of pat-downs, including 
statements that the pat-downs were abusive and extended wait times. 
Other individual commenters stated that because of their negative pat-
down experiences, they have cancelled air travel plans. A number of 
individual commenters stated that in their experience, TSA employees 
generally treat passengers in a courteous and professional manner.
    Commenters also expressed concerns regarding profiling. A few 
individual commenters, for example, stated that TSA staff intentionally 
chose young, female travelers for pat-downs at a higher rate than other 
travelers. Other commenters suggested that TSA staff discriminate 
against children and elderly women. It was the concern of an individual 
commenter that an enhanced pat-down of a child can be detrimental to 
the child's understanding of the appropriateness of an adult touching 
them. Furthermore, the individual commenter remarked that the 
separation of the child from their parent for screening results in 
distress for both the parent and child. Several individuals, a non-
profit organization, and an advocacy group expressed concern for 
children that must undergo touching during pat-downs. Many individuals 
and an advocacy group also mentioned psychological trauma caused by 
pat-downs, particularly for rape survivors and victims of sexual abuse. 
A few individual commenters noted that pat-downs impose unnecessary 
risks, given that most TSA screeners do not change their gloves often 
enough to prevent the spread of disease.
    TSA Response: TSA allows individuals generally to opt out of AIT 
screening and undergo a thorough pat-down instead. TSA has no 
requirement as to when a passenger should indicate that he or she does 
not wish to undergo AIT screening. Generally, passengers should make 
their request for a pat-down when they are directed to the AIT and 
prior to entering the AIT machine. Such requests can also be made 
earlier in the screening process. While AIT has been used to conduct 
primary passenger screening since 2009 and millions of passengers are 
aware of and have been screened by AIT, TSA posts signs to inform 
passengers that they may opt-out of AIT screening. TSA places these 
signs in the checkpoint prior to the AIT machine. Generally, the signs 
are 11 x 14 inches to avoid impeding the flow of passengers, because 
the signs are located in an area where passengers walk to enter the AIT 
unit. However, TSA permits signs that are 22 x 28 inches. TSA 
appreciates the commenters' input on the placement and font size 
associated with the signs, and may in the future revise signage 
practices to make this information even more prominent to passengers.
    While commenters wrote that the thoroughness of the pat-down is 
inappropriate, it would not make sense to allow passengers to opt out 
of AIT unless the alternative has similar ability to detect both 
metallic and non-metallic threat items. The pat-downs are tailored to 
address the known threat posed by concealed metallic or non-metallic 
explosives or other weapons, including those concealed on culturally 
sensitive areas of the body in order to evade detection. The court in 
the Corbett decision upheld the constitutionality of the pat-down. 
``The pat-downs also promote the governmental interest in airport 
security because security officers physically touch most areas of 
passengers' bodies . . . . Undeniably, a full-body pat-down intrudes on 
privacy, but the security threat outweighs that invasion of privacy.'' 
\90\ The court noted that TSA's procedures when conducting a pat-down 
reduce the invasion of privacy.\91\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \90\ Corbett, 767 F. 3d at 1182.
    \91\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The pat-down procedures are described on TSA's Web site.\92\ A pat-
down is performed if a passenger cannot undergo WTMD or opts out of AIT 
screening. A pat-down is also performed to resolve alarms or anomalies. 
A less invasive pat-down may be performed on a random basis. TSA 
advises individuals entering the checkpoint to divest all items on 
their person and in their pockets to reduce the likelihood that an 
alarm will occur. A pat-down is conducted by a TSO of the same gender 
as the passenger. A passenger may request that the pat-down be 
performed in private. During a private screening, another TSA employee 
will always be present and a companion of his or her choosing may 
accompany the passenger. In addition, the passenger is permitted to 
bring his carry-on baggage to the location where the pat-down will take 
place, including any private screening area. A passenger may ask for a 
chair if he or she needs to sit down. Ordinarily

[[Page 11385]]

a passenger will not be asked to remove or lift any article of clothing 
to reveal a sensitive body area. TSA has modified its pat-down 
procedures for children age 12 and under and adults age 75 and over to 
be less invasive and to reduce the likelihood that a pat-down is 
performed.\93\ Further, TSA will not separate parents from their 
children during the screening process. Passengers may request that TSOs 
change their gloves before performing a pat-down. Since a pat-down is 
conducted to determine whether prohibited items are concealed under 
clothing, sufficient pressure must be applied in order to ensure 
detection. TSOs are trained to inquire whether a passenger has an 
injury or tender area prior to initiating the pat-down so that such 
areas are treated accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \92\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions.
    \93\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/traveling-children and https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/screening-passengers-75-and-older.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSOs are trained to be courteous and respectful to all passengers 
and to provide assistance to facilitate the screening process. TSA will 
make every effort to be respectful of passengers' concerns, including 
those who have particular sensitivities to physical touching and to 
accommodate a person's needs. TSOs may not deliberately delay or modify 
a pat-down in order to convince passengers to choose AIT screening; 
such activity may subject a TSO to discipline, up to and including 
termination.
    As explained on TSA's Web site, TSA has established a national 
hotline for passengers with disabilities, medical conditions, or other 
circumstances to assist passengers to prepare for the screening process 
prior to flying.\94\ TSA recommends that passengers call the toll-free 
TSA Cares hotline, at 1-855-787-2227, 72 hours in advance of their 
flight for information about what to expect during screening.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \94\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support.
_____________________________________-

    Passengers who believe they have experienced unprofessional conduct 
at a security checkpoint may request to speak to a supervisor at the 
checkpoint or write to the TSA Contact Center at [email protected]. Passengers who believe they have been subject to 
discriminatory treatment at the checkpoint may file a complaint with 
TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler 
Engagement at [email protected], or submit an online complaint at 
https://www.tsa.gov/contact-center/form/complaints.\95\ Finally, 
travelers may also file discrimination complaints with DHS CRCL via 
CRCL's Web site at http://www.dhs.gov/complaints.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \95\ More information on TSA Civil Rights is available at 
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support/civil-rights.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

W. AIT Screening Procedures at the Checkpoint

    Comments: Many submissions discussed AIT screening procedures at 
security checkpoints. Some comments suggested that AIT screening 
increases the wait time at security checkpoints. Specifically, a few 
individual commenters stated that the requirement to remove shoes, 
articles of clothing, belts, and other items slows the process of 
screening. Commenters generally stated that AIT machines are slow.
    According to an individual commenter, screening procedures are not 
implemented consistently at checkpoints and airports because TSA 
employees are not familiar with the procedures. Another individual 
commenter stated that since metal detectors and pat-downs are the 
screening methods used for TSA employees and passengers using TSA's 
``Pre-Check'' screening process, the general public should be screened 
in the same manner. Similarly, a few individuals suggested there are 
several loopholes in the AIT screening process (groups of passengers 
that are ineligible for AIT) that render AIT useless.
    Others provided comments regarding the non-public nature of TSA's 
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Most commenters questioned why 
information about screening procedures is not released to the public. 
An individual commenter stated that because the AIT scanners have been 
deployed, and ``enhanced pat-downs'' are in effect, TSA should be able 
to release procedures for the screening process. An advocacy group 
stated that, if TSA does not provide its SOPs to the public, the public 
will be unaware of the checkpoint requirements and what, if any, 
guidelines there are for decision-making by TSA staff or contractors as 
to what constitutes a screening. The commenter suggested that TSA has 
kept the SOPs from the public so screening practices can be varied and 
unpredictable. The commenter stated that as a result, travelers could 
not distinguish legitimate demands from illegitimate or unauthorized 
demands.
    An individual commenter suggested that the majority of passengers 
are uninformed about the risks associated with AIT and the screening 
process. This commenter, as well as another individual, stated that 
passengers need to know what is expected of them at TSA checkpoints 
before they can give consent to how they will be searched. Similarly, 
another commenter stated that because TSA has the authority to fine 
passengers for refusing to complete screening, it is incumbent upon TSA 
to publish the details about the screening process.
    A community organization stated that those with medical issues are 
often chosen for secondary screening at a higher rate than those 
without medical issues. According to a community organization, although 
the TSA Web site explains that the head coverings of travelers, 
including Sikh turbans, could be subject to additional security 
screening, TSA staff has advised Sikh travelers that screening of the 
turbans is mandatory, even if the screening device has not alarmed 
during screening. The same commenter also stated that Sikh travelers 
continue to experience disparate rates of secondary screening despite 
TSA's Web site stating that AIT scanners can detect threats under 
layers of clothing without physical inspection of the traveler. The 
commenter concluded that TSA should conduct public, independent audits 
of TSA screening practices to determine the extent of profiling based 
on race, ethnicity, religion and national origin. A non-profit 
organization, however, suggested that failure to profile passengers 
based on ethnicity, religion, and national origin would undermine risk-
based security strategies.
    Some commenters, including individuals and non-profit 
organizations, expressed concern regarding the potential theft of 
personal items during AIT screening. Several of these commenters 
suggested that alternatives like WTMD allow the passenger to maintain 
control of their non-metallic valuables during screening and that 
control is relinquished when a passenger is separated from their 
possessions to be screened by AIT.
    TSA Response: TSA's procedures for checkpoint screening are 
described on TSA's Web site.\96\ The description includes a specific 
explanation of AIT and pat-down procedures.\97\ TSA uses AIT because it 
is the best technology currently available to address the known threat 
of nonmetallic explosives being concealed under clothing. Because the 
AIT alarms when it detects what it registers as an anomaly, at times 
additional screening must be performed to determine whether there is a 
threat. TSA advises passengers to remove all items from pockets to 
reduce the likelihood that the AIT will detect an item and that 
additional screening will be required. Passengers do not experience 
additional wait time due to

[[Page 11386]]

use of AIT equipment because the x-ray screening of carry-on baggage 
affects the overall screening process; in sum, passengers wait for 
their personal belongings regardless of which passenger screening 
technology is used. TSA encourages passengers to prepare for screening 
in advance by packing all personal items in their carry-on bag prior to 
entering the checkpoint in order to reduce the time spent in screening 
and to avoid the chance that such items will be left behind. As noted 
on the Web site, AIT screening is safe for all passengers and is 
generally available to all passengers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \96\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening.
    \97\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA's SOPs are internal documents that contain instructions for 
TSOs on how to operate equipment and conduct screening. TSOs receive 
extensive training to perform screening as described in the SOPs. These 
documents are SSI and cannot be shared with the public. 49 CFR part 
1520. The SSI status of these documents has been upheld by the courts 
and is outside the scope of this rulemaking.\98\ However, public 
procedures and information regarding the screening process are 
described on TSA's Web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \98\ Blitz v. Napolitano, 700 F.3d 733, 737 (4th Cir. 2012) 
(stating that ``the specifics of [TSA's checkpoint screening] 
procedures constitute SSI).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA's Pre[check] TM program offers expedited screening 
for passengers identified as low-risk through pre-screening. For 
example, passengers who have a Known Traveler Number issued by TSA or 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection are considered lower risk because 
they have undergone a vetting process or background check. Because of 
the pre-screening, they are more likely to be eligible for expedited 
screening than passengers who have not undergone any type of pre-
screening. TSA is encouraging all passengers to consider joining the 
program, and additional information is available on TSA's Web site.\99\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \99\ https://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA does not engage in any type of religious profiling. Special 
consideration is given to passengers who wear religious head coverings. 
As explained on TSA's Web site, persons wearing any type of head 
covering may be subject to additional screening of the head covering if 
the TSO cannot reasonably determine that the head area is free of a 
threat item.\100\ If it is necessary to remove the head covering, the 
passenger may request to remove it in a private screening area. All TSA 
employees are required to take religious and cultural awareness 
training, which includes information concerning certain types of head 
coverings. TSA's Web site also describes procedures for passengers with 
medical conditions.\101\ While all passengers and items, including 
medical devices, must be screened prior to entering the sterile area of 
the airport, some medical devices must undergo additional screening in 
order to ensure that a threat item is not present. All such devices are 
permitted once cleared. Passengers with medical conditions may call the 
TSA Cares hotline to receive specific screening information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \100\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions.
    \101\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA makes every effort to ensure that passengers are able to 
maintain sight of their carry-on baggage except while it is inside the 
x-ray machine. Generally, carry-on baggage is being x-rayed while the 
passenger undergoes AIT screening and usually the passenger completes 
AIT screening before the baggage screening is complete. TSA will 
cooperate with State and local law enforcement if a theft occurs. TSA 
has a zero-tolerance policy for theft by its officers. Any allegation 
of such activity is investigated, and if infractions are proven, 
offenders are disciplined, which can include removal from the agency's 
employment.\102\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \102\ Since 2005, approximately 380 employees have been 
disciplined or terminated for theft.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

X. AIT Technology Screening Procedures for Families and Individuals 
With Medical Issues

    Comments: Some commenters discussed the adequacy of AIT screening 
procedures as they relate to families. Some individual commenters 
recommended that TSA not allow adults to conduct a pat-down on 
children. Furthermore, one of these commenters also stated that it is 
inappropriate for children under the age of 18 to be exposed to the AIT 
scanner. Although one individual commenter stated that children should 
never be separated from their parents, another individual commenter 
suggested that all travelers, including children and their families, 
should be subject to AIT because all other travelers are subject to 
AIT.
    Many submissions addressed passengers with disabilities or medical 
conditions that make them ineligible for AIT screening. Several 
commenters expressed their general opposition to the use of AIT for 
those with medical conditions. Individual commenters explained that 
because of their insulin pumps they do not have a choice but to opt-out 
of AIT and therefore are subjected to invasive pat-downs and longer 
screening periods. Other commenters stated that the AIT scanners 
discriminate against those with a physical disability or medical issue. 
Some commenters suggested that travelers with physical disabilities 
should not be made to go through the often-taxing process of pat-down 
procedures. A privacy advocacy group stated that TSA has not considered 
the negative impact the proposed rule has on travelers with special 
needs, particularly those with medical devices. The commenter stated 
that aside from pat-downs, which the commenter described as 
embarrassing or humiliating, no alternative screening is discussed for 
those travelers who have medical devices, like prosthetics and 
pacemakers, which prevent them from being screened using an AIT 
scanner. An individual commenter expressed fear that the 
electromagnetic field of the AIT scanners may be calibrated to a level 
that would cause their heart pump to malfunction. An individual 
commenter stated that because the proposed rulemaking has not addressed 
the potential impacts that TSA screening activities may have on rape 
victims, TSA should stop using body imaging technology, cease the 
practice of pat-downs, and rely on the use magnetometers. An advocacy 
group and individual commenters expressed concern for the emotional 
effect that both pat-downs and body imaging technology can have on 
travelers who have experienced past emotional and physical trauma due 
to sexual assaults.
    A number of individual commenters expressed concern regarding the 
AIT screening procedures and related privacy issues for transgender 
individuals. An advocacy group provided information regarding the term 
``transgender'' and referred to Office of Personnel Management guidance 
on the process of gender transition. Several commenters, including 
advocacy groups, stated that transgender individuals are concerned that 
the screening process will lead to discrimination, the revelation of 
their gender status to screeners and others at the checkpoint, and 
humiliation. An individual commenter stated that transgender people 
often receive heightened scrutiny of their bodies and documents because 
of a lack of education and prejudice by TSA screeners. Some individual 
commenters and advocacy groups explained that the screening process for 
transgender individuals with prosthetics could be difficult because the 
prosthetics are detected as anomalies by the AIT scanners, which leads 
to a more extensive search of their person and questioning from TSA 
staff. Some individual commenters and advocacy

[[Page 11387]]

groups discussed the need for an alternative to pat-downs and AIT 
screening for transgender individuals.
    Some commenters, however, expressed support for the use of AIT. For 
example, travelers with joint replacements stated a preference for AIT 
because a full body search would otherwise be required with WTMD 
screening. An individual commenter who expressed support for AIT also 
recommended that the scanners be enlarged to accommodate medical 
equipment carried by travelers.
    TSA Response: TSA's Web site contains information regarding 
screening procedures for children, travelers with disabilities and 
medical conditions, and transgender individuals. TSA has implemented 
procedures to make it easier for children under 12 to complete the 
screening process. For example, as explained on TSA's Web site at 
www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/traveling-children, TSA will not 
separate adults from their children during screening. Children age 12 
and under are allowed to leave their shoes on during screening. TSA has 
revised its pat-down procedures for children to be less invasive and 
its screening procedures more generally, to reduce the likelihood that 
a pat-down must be performed.\103\ Absent extraordinary circumstances, 
pat-downs are only performed by TSOs of the same gender as the 
passenger. As discussed previously, the AIT has been tested and is safe 
for all passengers, including children.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \103\ TSA's screening procedures may be modified to respond to 
emerging threats and system vulnerabilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA has specific screening procedures for passengers with 
disabilities and medical conditions, and those procedures are described 
on TSA's Web site.\104\ These passengers are screened by the same 
technology as passengers without disabilities and medical conditions; 
however, additional screening of a passenger's equipment may also be 
required. As explained previously, the TSA Cares hotline can provide 
specific information for persons with disabilities and medical 
conditions. Depending upon the complexity of a passenger's needs, TSA 
Cares may forward a caller to disability experts at TSA who may arrange 
assistance at the airport, if necessary. TSA suggests that passengers 
with disabilities or medical conditions inform the TSO prior to 
undergoing screening. Passengers who prefer not to discuss their 
condition can obtain a Notification Card for discrete communications. 
The card is available at www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/disability_notification_card_508.pdf. Passengers who have an insulin 
pump may be screened using AIT or may opt for a pat-down. The FDA 
millimeter wave report posted on TSA's Web site includes personal 
medical electronic device test results.\105\ The FDA found that no 
effects were observed for any of the devices tested, including insulin 
pumps, pacemakers, neurostimulators, implantable cardio defibrillators, 
and blood glucose monitors, and that the risks that non-ionizing 
millimeter wave emissions could disrupt the function of the tested 
devices is very low.\106\ TSA's Web site also advises that passengers 
with internal medical devices, such as a pacemaker or a defibrillator, 
should not be screened by a metal detector and should instead request 
to be screened using AIT or a pat-down. See www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \104\ https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures.
    \105\ 78 FR 18295. See also https://www.tsa.gov/FOIA.
    \106\ Compilation of Emission Safety Reports on the L3 
Communications, Inc. ProVision 100 Active Millimeter Wave Advanced 
Imaging Technology (AIT) System, Version 2, DHS/ST/TSL-12/118, page 
v, September 1, 2012, available at http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/tsa-compilation-of-emission-safety-reports-on-the-l3-communications-inc-ait-system.pdf.
_____________________________________-

    TSA advises passengers to remove all items from their pockets to 
lessen the possibility that a pat-down will be needed to resolve an 
anomaly detected by AIT. All AIT units used for screening are equipped 
with ATR software, which eliminates the individual image and only 
reveals a generic outline.
    TSA recognizes the concerns of the transgender community and 
provides information on the screening process for transgender travelers 
on its Web site at www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions. TSA 
regularly meets with organizations representing the transgender 
community and works with them to discuss the screening process for 
transgender travelers. TSA notes that travelers may request a private 
screening with a witness or companion of the traveler's choosing at any 
point in the screening process. For travelers who have sensitivities to 
being touched, the majority of passengers can be screened without a 
pat-down so long as there is no need to resolve alarms. TSA is 
enhancing its training regarding the screening of transgender 
individuals to ensure that screening is conducted in a dignified and 
respectful manner.
    TSA trains its officers to be courteous and to treat passengers 
with dignity and respect. Travelers who believe they have experienced 
unprofessional conduct at a security checkpoint are encouraged to 
request a supervisor at the checkpoint to discuss the matter 
immediately or to submit a concern to TSA's Contact Center at [email protected]. Travelers who believe they have experienced 
discriminatory conduct because of a protected basis may file a concern 
with TSA's Office of Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler 
Engagement (OCRL/OTE) at [email protected], or submit an online 
complaint at https://www.tsa.gov/contact-center/form/complaints.\107\ 
Finally, travelers may also file discrimination complaints with DHS 
CRCL via CRCL's Web site at http://www.dhs.gov/complaints.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \107\ More information on TSA Civil Rights is available at 
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support/civil-rights.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y. Comments on the Proposed Regulatory Text

    Comments: Many commenters addressed the regulatory text proposed in 
the NPRM. Many made the general assertion that the proposed rule is 
vague. Multiple commenters stated that the NPRM is not clear regarding 
a passenger's right to screening methods other than AIT. A few 
individual commenters suggested that, by not discussing alternative 
screening options, TSA is implying that passengers do not have a right 
to opt-out and be screened by a pat-down inspection. Further, an 
advocacy group requested that the language in the proposed rule should 
codify that all pat-down searches are to be conducted by officers of 
the same self-identified gender as the traveler, and not the gender 
listed on the identification document or the gender assigned to the 
passenger at birth. One of these commenters recommended that text be 
added to the regulation to specify alternatives for those with medical 
or other sensitive needs. An advocacy group stated that the failure to 
include information regarding an opt-out alternative in the proposed 
rule is in violation of the APA. An individual commenter suggested that 
text also be included to require appropriate notice to passengers about 
the use of AIT and information about the opt-out option be more 
extensive and posted. One of these commenters stated that the NPRM 
suggests that a passenger who opts-out of AIT screening is perceived as 
disrupting the security system. An advocacy group and individual 
commenters stated that the NPRM language stating AIT screening is 
currently optional indicates that TSA may impose mandatory AIT 
screening for all passengers in the future.

[[Page 11388]]

    A few individual commenters and advocacy groups stated that TSA 
should clarify key terms in the NPRM, including ``anomaly.'' A 
commenter stated that in the absence of any definitions of ``submit'' 
or ``screening,'' the rule would be unconstitutionally vague and 
overbroad. The commenter implied that such definitions are required in 
order for travelers to understand ``what is prohibited or what is 
forbidden'' by TSA. Similarly, an individual commenter and an advocacy 
group noted that the lack of details regarding screening and inspection 
leaves passengers uninformed regarding TSA's authority and what options 
passengers have. The advocacy group suggested that the lack of clarity 
leaves TSA checkpoint procedures unpredictable and inconsistent. An 
advocacy group recommended that if the word ``anomalies'' were changed 
to the detection of prohibited foreign items that pose special risks of 
creating physical danger in the aviation environment, the public's 
trust in TSA would increase.
    Several commenters generally stated that the definition of AIT is 
ambiguous. A few commenters, including a privacy advocacy group, 
suggested that the definition of AIT was vague because it did not state 
that AIT involves the production of images. Similarly, a non-profit 
organization stated the definition of AIT is too broad in that it 
allows TSA to use other tools and technologies in addition to AIT. An 
individual commenter noted that the vagueness of the regulation leaves 
the reader with limited understanding of the intention of the NPRM. One 
individual commenter stated that the proposed regulatory text in the 
NPRM is unconstitutionally vague.
    Similarly, an advocacy group suggested that the proposed rule 
should be revised to clarify the rights and responsibilities of 
passengers and TSA with regard to AIT scanning. The commenter stated 
that the EPIC opinion provides more information about TSA policy than 
the proposed rule and that the proposed rule does not fulfill the court 
order. This commenter concluded that the rulemaking process for AIT 
scanning should begin anew. According to an advocacy group, clarifying 
the limits of screening objectives will enhance the public's trust in 
TSA's screening program. Another individual commenter stated that the 
EPIC decision required TSA to develop written rules for screening at 
checkpoints. The commenter stated that the terminology used in these 
rules should be more descriptive of what will, and will not, occur 
during pat-downs.
    Some commenters provided suggestions as to how the proposed rule 
could include protections for passengers. A non-profit organization 
requested that a ``code of conduct'' towards passengers and a 
``passenger bill of rights'' be included in the regulations. 
Furthermore, an advocacy group suggested that (1) passengers have the 
option to be screened in private and with a witness of the passenger's 
choosing; (2) there be a limitation on the requirement for a passenger 
to lift or remove clothing; and (3) pat-downs be limited to the areas 
on the body where an anomaly was detected by the AIT scanner. The same 
advocacy group recommended that the TSA Traveler's Civil Rights Policy 
be codified in the final rule and should include nondiscrimination 
based on gender identity.
    Some commenters recommended specific wording to be added to the 
proposed regulatory text to (1) allow TSA to search locations that are 
likely targets; (2) protect the Fourth Amendment concerns of private 
citizens; (3) eliminate costs associated with legal challenges; and (4) 
lower operational costs.
    An individual commenter proposed adding text to clarify that 
screening to detect anomalies will be conducted using the least 
intrusive means. A community organization recommended expanding the 
proposed regulation to include specifics regarding how and when AIT can 
be used; when enhanced pat-down searches are to be conducted; that 
information on AIT be provided to passengers prior to AIT screening; to 
codify a pat-down search option; and to address the images generated by 
AIT. A non-profit organization suggested that the proposed rule define 
AIT as ``active'' imaging technology as opposed to ``advanced'' so the 
technology can be differentiated from ``passive'' imaging technology.
    An advocacy group suggested that in order to assure passengers that 
images from the AIT scanners will not be retained, the definition of 
the AIT scanners should describe the technology as one that allows 
screening without subsequent retention of individual passenger image 
data. The same commenter proposed that training regarding how to work 
with diverse populations be required in the final rule.
    A few commenters, including individual commenters and a non-profit 
organization, stated that TSA's summary of the proposed rule was a 
misrepresentation of the facts and screening options.
    TSA Response: To address many of the comments on the proposed 
regulatory text, TSA is adopting the statutory definition of AIT 
codified at 49 U.S.C. 44901(l). The statute defines AIT more narrowly 
as ``a device used in the screening of passengers that creates a visual 
image of an individual showing the surface of the skin and revealing 
other objects on the body; and may include devices using backscatter x-
rays or millimeter waves and devices referred to as `whole-body imaging 
technology' or `body scanning machines'.'' The definition of AIT in the 
final rule now refers specifically to ``a device used in the screening 
of passengers that creates a visual image of an individual showing the 
surface of the skin and revealing other objects on the body . . . .'' 
In addition, in recognition of privacy concerns, TSA is adopting the 
statutory language requiring the use of ATR software on any AIT used to 
screen passengers. The regulatory text now specifies that AIT must be 
equipped with and use ATR software. The regulatory text defines ATR as 
software that produces a generic image that is the same as the image 
produced for all individuals. Consistent with many comments received, 
this definition ensures that there are no passenger-specific images. 
TSA believes that the final rule's definition of AIT is more specific 
than the proposed definition in the NPRM and better ensures that the 
regulation is consistent with existing law. This definition also 
obviates the need for further requirements related to the potential 
storage and transfer of images, as the rule now requires images 
produced by AIT to be generic.
    TSA declines to make a number of other changes to the regulatory 
text proposed by commenters. TSA does not refer to the option to 
undergo a pat-down instead of AIT in the regulatory text. As noted 
throughout this preamble, AIT use generally is optional. TSA recognizes 
that some passengers do not wish to be screened by AIT and generally, 
they may choose to undergo a pat-down. Other screening options are not 
permitted as the pat-down has the similar capability to detect both 
metallic and non-metallic threats. TSA also recognizes that some 
passengers are ineligible for AIT (for example, they are not able to 
stand unattended or raise their arms in the manner required for AIT 
screening). These passengers must undergo a pat-down in lieu of AIT. 
TSA also notes that it may require AIT use, without the opt-out 
alternative, as warranted by security considerations in order to 
safeguard transportation

[[Page 11389]]

security. Thus, TSA has not codified an opt-out alternative in this 
rule.
    As discussed above, in response to comments, TSA has removed the 
term ``anomaly'' from the regulatory text to avoid confusion regarding 
the meaning of the term. However, TSA is not adopting comments 
regarding the use of the terms ``screening'' and ``submit.'' These 
terms are used throughout TSA regulations; in the NPRM, TSA did not 
propose to modify any other regulatory provisions that use these terms, 
and TSA believes that it could be confusing to add a general definition 
that would affect those provisions. Nor does TSA believe that a 
definition specific to this section would be particularly useful, given 
that relatively few commenters found material ambiguity in the terms 
``screening'' and ``submit.'' TSA notes that a definition of 
``screening function'' is contained in 49 CFR 1540.5. TSA does not 
intend to alter that definition in this rulemaking. TSA's changes to 
the regulatory text are intended to maintain consistency with the 
definition of AIT developed by Congress to limit the use of AIT for 
screening passengers and to address privacy concerns. TSA believes that 
using a different definition or including terminology not used by 
Congress, such as ``active'' or ``passive,'' would not meaningfully 
enhance the clarity of the provision, and could create confusion about 
what is meant by ``active'' and ``passive.'' In addition, by adopting 
the statutory definitions in the regulation, TSA will deploy the types 
of AIT equipment that Congress intended to be used to conduct passenger 
screening.
    As discussed in previous responses and in the NPRM, TSA's Web site 
provides a public description of AIT procedures for passengers. See 78 
FR 18296-18297. The Web site also describes when a pat-down is 
performed, that a passenger may request private screening with a 
companion of the passenger's choosing, and that ordinarily a passenger 
will not be requested to remove or lift clothing to reveal a sensitive 
body area. TSA's screening procedures are sensitive security 
information, 49 CFR 1520.5(b)(9), and cannot be publicly divulged in 
significant additional detail. TSA strives to provide information on 
its Web site so that travelers will generally know what to expect when 
they arrive at an airport.
    Congress has vested TSA with broad authority to use the equipment, 
measures and procedures TSA deems necessary to protect transportation 
security.\108\ Current regulations already specify the responsibilities 
of passengers and other individuals who seek to enter the sterile area 
of an airport or board an aircraft. Regulations provide that ``[n]o 
individual may enter a sterile area or board an aircraft without 
submitting to the screening and inspection of his or her person and 
accessible property in accordance with the procedures being applied to 
control access to that area or aircraft.'' See 49 CFR 1540.107(a). 
These regulations do not detail every particular screening method, 
policy, or technology that TSA employs at the checkpoint.\109\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \108\ See 49 U.S.C. 114(e) (listing TSA's responsibilities to 
include ``day-to-day Federal security screening operations for 
passenger air transportation . . .''); 49 U.S.C. 114(f) (describing 
other TSA duties and powers to include ``develop policies, 
strategies, and plans for dealing with threats to transportation 
security . . . enforce security-related regulations and requirements 
. . . identify and undertake research and development activities 
necessary to enhance transportation security . . . inspect, 
maintain, and test security facilities, equipment, and systems . . . 
and oversee the implementation, and ensure the adequacy, of security 
measures at airports and other transportation facilities''); and 49 
U.S.C. 44925 (directing DHS to give a high priority to ``developing, 
testing, improving, and deploying, at airport screening checkpoints, 
equipment that detects nonmetallic, chemical, biological, and 
radiological weapons, and explosives, in all forms, on individuals 
and in their personal property.'').
    \109\ Before TSA was established, the FAA operated under a very 
similar broad regulatory framework that also afforded discretion 
with respect to the specifics of checkpoint screening. See, e.g., 
Airport and Airplane Operator Security Rules, 51 FR 1350 (Jan. 10, 
1986) (final rule) (issuing former 14 CFR 107.20, which provided 
that ``[n]o person may enter a sterile area without submitting to 
the screening of his or her person and property in accordance with 
the procedures being applied to control access to that area''). In 
addition, just as TSA does now, the FAA typically responded to 
evolving threats by making changes to checkpoint screening 
procedures under its broad regulatory authority rather than by 
issuing new regulations. Nader v. Butterfield, 373 F. Supp. 1175, 
1177 (D.D.C. 1974) (explaining that the FAA responded to ``an 
alarming rash of bomb threats and airplane seizures'' in 1972 by 
implementing new checkpoint screening procedures through a telegram 
emergency order to the agency's Regional Directors).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the NPRM, TSA proposed to codify the use of AIT to conduct 
security screening to comply with the ruling in EPIC. TSA is not 
adopting comments requesting that TSA also codify alternative screening 
options in the final rule. TSA may be unable to disclose details about 
some alternative screening options publicly. Federal law requires TSA 
to promulgate regulations to prohibit the disclosure of information 
obtained or developed in carrying out security that TSA decides would 
be detrimental to the security of transportation. 49 U.S.C. 114(r). TSA 
cannot publicly disclose all the information that would be necessary to 
allow for complete public discussion of security procedures and 
equipment, as some of the relevant information is SSI as specified in 
TSA regulations. See 49 CFR part 1520. In addition, some relevant 
information is classified and further restricted from public 
disclosure. It would not be practical for TSA to make every security 
measure public, as that would certainly make it easier for terrorists 
to circumvent such measures in order to carry out an attack.
    In addition, codification of alternative screening options would 
seriously impede the flexibility needed to respond to security threats. 
TSA's procedures and equipment are designed to assist in the detection 
of concealed items that individuals are attempting to smuggle into the 
sterile area or on board an aircraft.\110\ Depending on the 
circumstance, changes in certain procedures may be necessary on a 
global or case-by-case basis to respond in real-time to a threat, 
resolve an alarm, deal with equipment malfunctions, accommodate 
individuals with disabilities or other unique needs, or address other 
situations that could arise at the security checkpoint. For instance, 
sometimes types of clothing or physical attributes present particular 
challenges that require changes to screening techniques in order to 
conduct the thorough screening required to detect concealed items.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \110\ See George v. Rehiel, 738 F.3d 562, 578 (3d Cir. 2013) 
(noting that TSA operates in ``a world where air passenger safety 
must contend with such nuanced threats as attempts to convert 
underwear into bombs and shoes into incendiary devices'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In short, TSA could not operate effectively if it was required to 
conduct notice and comment rulemaking whenever a change in a security 
equipment, policy, or procedure was needed. The APA generally does not 
require TSA to amend or issue regulations for most checkpoint screening 
equipment, policy, and procedure changes; for TSA to voluntarily submit 
to such a requirement would undermine TSA's ability to adapt quickly to 
new security threats and ``mire the agency in fruitless delay, expense, 
and inefficiency.'' \111\ Moreover, any additional regulatory text with 
sufficient flexibility for TSA to adapt quickly to new security threats 
would severely undercut the usefulness to the public of additional 
regulatory text. Instead, consistent with longstanding practice and the 
EPIC decision, TSA's regulations establish the requirement to undergo 
screening, and set the parameters under which TSA has the flexibility, 
within the bounds of its

[[Page 11390]]

statutory mandate as well as other applicable Federal laws and 
policies, to choose screening equipment, adopt specific screening 
policies, and ``prescribe the screening process.'' \112\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \111\ Guardian Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ins. 
Corp., 589 F.2d 658, 668 (D.C. Cir. 1978).
    \112\ EPIC, 653 F.3d at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, although TSA has determined not to codify additional 
policies and procedures in the regulatory text, TSA advises the public 
on what to expect at the checkpoint, and constantly strives to improve 
the screening experience. When TSA policies affecting screening are 
modified, TSA provides additional information to the public through its 
Web site as appropriate. TSA acknowledges the concerns expressed by 
commenters seeking assurance that they are being treated in accordance 
with established policies and procedures. TSA has posted screening 
information on its Web site to facilitate the secure and efficient 
processing of passengers when they arrive at an airport.\113\ As 
explained above, TSA also provides various opportunities for 
individuals to obtain help in understanding the screening process, to 
express concerns regarding screening, and to submit complaints 
regarding unprofessional conduct by TSA personnel. Finally, TSA's 
training and procedures already require officers to treat every 
passenger with dignity and respect and make every effort to accommodate 
passengers' needs while processing through screening. Violations of 
these standards subject officers to discipline, up to and including 
termination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \113\ See for example, www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening and 
www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, regulatory text is not needed to address commenters' 
stated constitutional concerns as multiple courts of appeal have found 
that TSA's airport screening protocols do not violate the Fourth 
Amendment. For example, the EPIC decision holds that TSA's use of AIT 
is constitutional and meets legal requirements; although TSA's 
screening operations are of course subject to certain legal 
constraints, TSA is not required to describe or interpret every such 
constraint in this regulatory text. TSA has also explained its 
adherence to federal law and DHS policies regarding the use of race, 
ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or 
gender identity in agency operations. To the extent that such generally 
applicable policies have applications in the checkpoint screening 
context, it would be unnecessary, unduly cumbersome, and outside the 
scope of this rule to reiterate such policies in the instant rulemaking 
in particular. Similarly, TSA adheres to the statutory requirements 
regarding the conduct of screening of persons and property and will not 
include SSI in its public rules. In response to the commenter who 
identified certain costs for TSA to include in the regulation, TSA 
notes that costs are described in the RIA accompanying this final rule.

Z. Costs of the Proposed Rule

    Comments: Dozens of submissions addressed the overall costs 
associated with the proposed rule. Several individual commenters and a 
non-profit organization stated that AIT scanners would be too costly, 
and suggested that TSA invest in other, less expensive screening 
methods. Another individual commenter stated that the cost analysis 
should have included a rigorous probability and statistical analysis to 
estimate ``difficult to compute'' costs for sub-populations. For 
example, the commenter suggested that TSA include costs for travelers 
who are more vulnerable to radiation, immune-suppressed, or suffering 
from skin cancer. With regard to the RIA posted in the docket, an 
individual commenter asked TSA to clarify the units for the cost data 
included in Summary Tables 4 through 6.
    TSA Response: TSA estimated the costs of AIT and compared to four 
and five other alternatives in the RIA for both the NPRM and final rule 
RIA, respectively. TSA determined that AIT has a number of advantages 
over the other alternatives. AIT maintains lower personnel cost and a 
higher passenger throughput rate than other alternatives considered 
(for detailed description of alternatives see Chapter 3 in both the 
NPRM and final rule RIAs). After weighing the qualitative advantages 
and disadvantages of each alternative, TSA elected to maintain AIT as a 
means of screening passengers to mitigate the vulnerability that exists 
with the inability of WTMDs to detect non-metallic threats.
    TSA performed its cost analysis using the most recent, 
comprehensive and readily available data. Federal law and regulations 
require all passengers to be screened prior to boarding an aircraft. 
There was no need to perform a probabilistic or statistical analysis to 
estimate the populations affected as TSA used its actual passenger 
screening records in its estimates. Furthermore, data used to determine 
AIT capabilities are based on years of tests on detection capabilities 
and performance standards. TSA did not include radiation-related costs 
in the RIA because the level of radiation from AIT was determined to be 
so low as to present a negligible risk to passengers, airline crew, 
airport employees, and TSA employees. The machines were tested, and 
doses were found to be below the ANSI/HPS standards. The standards 
consider the impact of radiation on individuals, such as pregnant 
women, children, and persons who receive radiation treatments, who may 
be more susceptible to radiation health effects. AIT equipment has been 
subject to extensive, independent testing that has confirmed that it is 
safe for individuals being screened, equipment operators, and 
bystanders. The exposure to ionizing x-ray beams emitted by the 
backscatter machines that were removed pursuant to statute, as well as 
the non-ionizing electromagnetic waves from the millimeter wave 
machines are well below the limits allowed under relevant national 
health and safety standards \114\ (See Chapter 2, page 104 of the NPRM 
RIA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \114\ The FDA has found that millimeter wave is safe and states 
on its Web site ``[m]illimeter wave security systems which comply 
with the limits set in the applicable national non-ionizing 
radiation safety standard . . . cause no known adverse health 
effects.'' http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/SecuritySystems/ucm227201.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The cost estimates in the NPRM RIA Summary Tables 4 through 6 are 
displayed in thousands of dollars, as presented in the table titles as 
``Costs in $1,000s.'' For example, $1 shown in Table 4 represents one 
thousand dollars. In the final rule RIA, costs are presented in 
millions of dollars throughout the document to avoid confusion.

AA. Passenger Opportunity Costs

    Comments: Dozens of submissions directly addressed passenger 
opportunity costs associated with the proposed rule. Individual 
commenters and advocacy groups stated that TSA did not include adequate 
costs for passenger delays due to AIT. Using average time lost passing 
through security and average wage rates, several of these commenters 
estimated additional passenger opportunity costs ranging from $450 
million per year to $15.2 billion per year. One commenter estimated the 
additional delay in terms of lost lifetimes and stated the proposed 
rule would lead to 18 lifetimes lost per year due to waiting in 
passenger screening lines. An advocacy group cited a 2008 report that 
found TSA security increased delays by 19.5 minutes in 2004. A 
commenter also suggested that TSA estimate other opportunity costs 
associated with opt-outs, including the cost of enduring the

[[Page 11391]]

pat-down itself, because both the passenger and the TSA agent would 
prefer to avoid the pat-down.
    Many other commenters, including a non-profit organization and 
individuals, suggested that the proposed rule would increase wait times 
at the security checkpoints, leading to passenger delays. At least one 
comment referenced an examination of AIT use in Australia that found 
that passenger screening time through the trial lane took slightly 
longer than the passenger screening time through a standard screening 
lane, most likely caused by the higher alarm rate, with the data 
suggesting that the average passenger is six times more likely to alarm 
in the body scanner than the standard lane. Some commenters estimated 
that the process of opting out--including waiting for a TSO of the 
same-sex to perform the pat-down--from AIT would delay a passenger by 
at least 15 minutes. The commenters urged TSA to account for the 
additional time spent by passengers waiting to pass through airport 
security. An individual commenter suggested that AIT would reduce wait 
times for screening, particularly for passengers with joint 
replacements that would otherwise trigger WTMDs.
    TSA Response: Overall passenger screening system times do not 
increase with AIT. Passengers currently experience delays at the 
checkpoint attributable to the screening of carry-on luggage and 
personal belongings, which has been a Federal requirement even before 
the creation of TSA, and which was included as part of the baseline for 
the passenger opportunity cost assessment. For more information on 
equipment throughput rate, see Regulatory Impact Analysis Chapter 2: 
AIT Deployment Costs. Although the AIT with ATR (current AIT technology 
being used) throughput rate is lower than the WTMD, the passenger 
screening system and passengers are constrained by the x-ray machines 
that screen carry-on baggage and personal belongings. With regard to 
examination of AIT in Australia, the commenter failed to cite the full 
context of the findings which stated ``This [additional seconds of 
delay] was caused by a number of factors, some of which can be 
mitigated through refining the process and procedures, and some of 
which will be minimized as screening officers and passengers becoming 
more familiar with the new technology.'' \115\ Additionally, TSA's 
security checkpoints and standard operating procedures may differ from 
the logistics exercised in the trial in Australia. TSA relies on its 
own findings from the field to make a determination of wait times in 
the RIA. The small percentage of passengers who choose to opt out of 
AIT screening will incur opportunity costs due to the additional 
screening time needed to receive a pat-down. In the NPRM RIA, TSA 
estimated that 1.8 percent of all passengers opt-out of AIT and receive 
a pat-down. Only a small percentage of passengers will experience an 
increased wait time. TSA agrees that it should add additional time to 
account for waiting for a same gender TSO to perform the pat-down. 
However, TSA disagrees that an average wait would be as long as 15 
minutes. TSA has added an additional 70 seconds to the total pat down 
procedure time to account for the time spent waiting for the same 
gender TSO. In some instances, a same gender TSO is only seconds away 
from the passenger and in other cases, the wait is longer. Based on TSA 
field tests, TSA estimates an average additional wait of 70 seconds. 
TSA already estimates that the pat-down procedure itself takes 80 
seconds. In total, TSA estimates that, on average, a passenger that 
opts-out of AIT screening will incur an additional wait time of 150 
seconds (70 second average wait time for the same gender TSO to meet 
the passenger and 80 seconds to complete the pat-down procedure). TSA 
estimated per passenger opportunity cost of opting out of AIT by 
multiplying the additional wait time by the average passenger value of 
time,\116\ estimated at $43.44 per hour in the NPRM RIA. TSA used 
expected wage rates to base the value of a person's opportunity cost, 
which is widely accepted as an appropriate valuation of a person's 
value of time. The Passenger Opportunity Cost section, found in Chapter 
2, page 49 of the NPRM RIA, explains in further detail the opportunity 
cost estimate and methodology. TSA was unable to quantify or monetize 
other intangible costs relating to opting out of AIT screening and 
receiving a pat-down (e.g., personal preference). In the final rule 
RIA, the opt-out rate and passenger value of time have been revised to 
reflect the most recent data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \115\ Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Australian 
Government, ``Optimal Technologies Proof of Concept Trial Report,'' 
Feb. 28, 2012.
    \116\ U.S. Department of Transportation, ``Revised Departmental 
Guidance on Valuation of Travel Time in Economic Analysis,'' Sep. 
28, 2011. DOT estimates an hourly rate of $42.10 in table 4 of this 
report and TSA inflated this estimate to 2011 dollars at $43.44. 
http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/vot_guidance_092811c.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

BB. Airport Utility Costs

    Comments: A commenter suggested that TSA underestimated airport 
utility costs because the analysis uses a constant utility cost per 
unit installed over the 8-year lifecycle. The commenter stated that 
since electricity prices have increased at an average rate of 1.53 
percent annually, if the analysis allowed for the price of electricity 
to grow at this rate, the total estimated utility cost would increase.
    TSA Response: Energy cost fluctuations are driven by two factors: 
Real changes in costs and inflation. In the NPRM RIA, TSA accounted for 
real changes in utility costs by averaging prices for years 2007-2011 
as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. TSA used 
this average to estimate utility costs for the years 2012-2015. TSA did 
not incorporate annual inflation increases for any costs in the RIA in 
accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-4 
guidelines.\117\ In the final rule RIA, TSA once again used the U.S. 
Energy Information Administration for its historical energy prices in 
2008-2012 and used their projections for real energy prices for 2013-
2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \117\ Page 32 of OMB Circular A-4 states: ``In presenting the 
stream of benefits and costs, it is important to measure them in 
constant dollars to avoid the misleading effects of inflation in 
your estimates.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CC. TSA Costs

    Comments: Many comments addressed TSA's costs associated with the 
proposed rule. A commenter stated that by incurring $1.5 billion in 
costs to-date without following the proper protocol under the APA, TSA 
has committed a gross breach of its fiduciary responsibility. Other 
commenters suggested that TSA's AIT-related costs are unjustifiably 
high. Another commenter urged TSA to document and disclose all AIT-
related costs, including purchase price, maintenance costs, and 
personnel costs.
    Some submissions addressed TSA's personnel costs associated with 
the proposed rule. Some commenters stated that AIT operation requires 
more TSOs than the WTMD, which results in larger payroll costs. Another 
commenter disputed TSA's estimates of personnel costs. Specifically 
referencing the constant salary used to estimate personnel costs in the 
RIA, the commenter stated that using a salary level that grows over 
time by 1.15 percent would increase personnel costs by $33 million.
    Many submissions addressed TSA's equipment costs associated with 
the proposed rule. A few commenters identified equipment costs that 
they stated were missing from the RIA. An individual commenter and a 
non-profit

[[Page 11392]]

organization asked TSA to clarify whether the analysis accounts for the 
cost of installing AIT scanners in every security lane. One commenter 
compared TSA's equipment costs to independent estimates and concluded 
that TSA's lower cost estimates do not include an estimate of the 
number of AIT scanners needed nationwide. Another commenter stated that 
the analysis does not include the cost associated with replacing the 
AIT scanners every 8 years. An individual commenter asked TSA to 
provide detail on the maintenance cost assumptions in the analysis. The 
commenter urged TSA to base AIT maintenance costs on actual experience 
(e.g., total service calls required in recent years). Another commenter 
declared that the AIT machines are expensive and recommended other 
security-related equipment that TSA could invest in instead (e.g., 
improved sensors for baggage).
    TSA Response: With respect to comments regarding TSA's fiduciary 
responsibility, TSA has deployed AIT consistent with its statutory 
authority and as directed by Congress and the President. All costs 
incurred to deploy AIT have been accounted for and approved in the 
Federal budgeting process.
    TSA estimated all personnel costs associated with the deployment of 
AIT. For the RIA, which accompanied the NPRM, TSA estimated this cost 
using assumptions from TSA's Screener Allocation Model (SAM) that 
dictates the allocation of personnel to each airport. The SAM takes 
into account the number of personnel it takes to operate WTMDs and AITs 
and also the different configurations (or ``modsets'') in which these 
machines are implemented. TSA based its estimation of personnel costs 
on the number of AIT machines that were forecasted to be deployed 
nationwide for years 2012-2015 and the number of personnel required to 
operate each machine. Finally, TSA applied the average TSO's fully 
loaded wage rate to estimate costs.\118\ TSA did not incorporate annual 
increases in inflation for any costs in the RIA, including personnel 
costs, in accordance with OMB Circular A-4 guidelines. A full 
description of these costs is in Chapter 2 in both the NPRM and final 
rule RIA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \118\ A ``fully loaded'' wage rate includes the cost of wages 
paid to the employee plus the costs of employee benefits such as 
paid leave and health care.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA estimated the full life cycle costs relating to the use and 
deployment of AIT. TSA divided the cost components into four 
categories: Acquisition, installation, and integration; maintenance; 
test and evaluation; and program management office (PMO) costs. With 
respect to the comment on the replacement costs, replacement costs are 
not included in a life-cycle analysis. The RIA analyzes costs and 
benefits for one life-cycle of AIT and therefore does not include 
replacement costs.
    A full description of these costs is in Chapter 2 of both the NPRM 
and final rule RIA.
    TSA compared AIT to other alternatives and concluded that AIT is 
the alternative that represents the best technology, currently 
available, to detect metallic and nonmetallic threats to commercial air 
travel.

DD. Other Costs

    Comments: Hundreds of submissions addressed other costs associated 
with the proposed rule. Several commenters identified additional costs 
that they stated should have been included in the RIA. A few 
commenters, including an individual commenter and advocacy groups, 
suggested that the use of AIT would have a cost impact on the aviation 
and travel industries, which the RIA does not quantify. Some commenters 
cited a 2007 study that shows demand for air travel could decline by 6 
percent on all flights and by about 9 percent on flights departing from 
the nation's 50 busiest airports, reduce airline revenue, and increase 
airline costs and passenger fees. Approximately 80 submissions 
addressed other travel impacts associated with the proposed rule. Many 
commenters, including non-profit organizations, an advocacy group, and 
individual commenters stated that the traveling public would avoid air 
travel, causing individuals to drive or take the train. Some of these 
commenters stated that there would be increased roadway fatalities 
because of the increase in motor vehicle travel (some estimated as many 
as 500 additional deaths per year). The commenters suggested that the 
analysis should account for the cost associated with these additional 
fatalities. Other commenters indicated that reduced air travel, 
including from international tourists, would affect the airline 
industry, and TSA should estimate these financial impacts.
    Other commenters recommended that TSA include estimates for legal 
costs in the cost-benefit analysis because of the likelihood of further 
litigation regarding the use of AIT. An individual commenter suggested 
that AIT scanners would result in medical equipment costs to passengers 
(e.g., damage to insulin pumps). An advocacy group urged TSA to include 
costs associated with infringement on civil liberties and on privacy, 
but acknowledged that these costs are not easily quantifiable. An 
advocacy group urged TSA to include passenger privacy impacts in the 
cost-benefit analysis.
    A commenter requested that TSA provide clarification on the 
assumptions used to develop the AIT program management costs (e.g., 10 
percent of passenger screening costs). Another individual commenter 
suggested that TSA consider using a random selection AIT screening 
process in order to reduce the costs of the rule.
    TSA Response: With respect to quantifying any loss from a decline 
in the demand for travel, TSA reviewed the study \119\ cited in the 
comments. The study was published in 2007--before AIT was deployed--and 
therefore did not provide estimated impacts on airline revenues and 
passenger demand related to AIT. The study's results appear to have 
been based on security measures well outside the scope of AIT, such as 
the federalization of passenger security screening at all U.S. 
commercial airports and the requirement to begin screening all checked 
baggage in 2002. As TSA previously explained, the baseline from which 
the costs and benefits of this rule are estimated is not ``no TSA 
screening'' or ``no screening at all.'' The baseline of this rule is 
how TSA would accomplish screening without AIT. TSA used WTMD as the 
primary passenger screening technology at passenger screening 
checkpoints prior to the deployment of AIT. Therefore, the costs and 
benefits of this rule are compared to WTMD as the primary screening 
tool. Although it is possible that a security measure could be 
implemented that would have a measurable impact on the commercial 
aviation demand, in this case, TSA has not seen credible evidence that 
AIT is such a security measure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \119\ Blalock, Garrick, Kadiyali, Vrinda, Simon, and Daniel H., 
``The Impact of Post 9/11 Airport Security Measures on the Demand 
for Air Travel,'' Journal of Law and Economics, Apr. 30, 2007, 
http://dyson.cornell.edu/faculty_sites/gb78/wp/JLE_6301.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA analyzed the potential cost impacts associated with the 
implementation of AIT in its cost analysis. TSA concluded that there 
are no additional legal costs to stakeholders for the deployment and 
use of AIT pursuant to TSA regulatory requirements. Litigation costs 
are not a direct cost of the rule because such costs do not result from 
compliance with the rule. Additionally, any estimate of litigation 
expenses would be highly speculative and would not inform TSA's 
decision of AIT deployment. However,

[[Page 11393]]

TSA acknowledges that to the extent parties choose to enter into 
litigation on AIT, there are indirect costs associated with that 
litigation.
    The most significant advantage of using AIT is the enhancement of 
air transportation security because AIT can detect nonmetallic threats 
concealed under clothing. It also reduces the need for a pat-down, 
which would be required with the WTMD for individuals with medical 
implants such as a pacemaker or a metal knee replacement. Thus, AIT 
reduces the cost and inconvenience to passengers with this medical 
equipment. As explained in a previous response, the FDA tested the 
effect of AIT on different types of medical devices, including insulin 
pumps, and found no impact. Thus, TSA does not include costs of medical 
devices in the analysis.
    Before the development of the ATR software, TSA instituted rigorous 
safeguards to protect the privacy of individuals who are screened using 
AIT. The DHS Chief Privacy Officer conducted several PIAs to ensure 
that TSA adequately addressed privacy concerns related to AIT 
screening. The PIA describes the strict measures TSA uses to protect 
privacy. While TSA was unable to produce a quantitative impact of 
perceived privacy issues, TSA included a thorough qualitative 
discussion regarding this issue in the NPRM RIA (Chapter 2, page 99). 
Additionally, TSA did not receive any public comments providing a 
methodology to be used on the economic valuation of how perceived 
privacy issues could be calculated. Finally, the use of AIT to screen 
passengers has been upheld by the courts as reasonable under the Fourth 
Amendment, even prior to the mandatory use of ATR.
    To run the passenger screening program, TSA provides internal PMO 
support and contractor support. Because PMO support reflects the day-
to-day support of the entire screening program, TSA is unable to 
identify PMO spending allocated to AIT specifically. To account for 
these costs to AIT, TSA assumed that the PMO cost was 10 percent of the 
total cost of AIT in the NPRM RIA, based on subject matter expert 
estimates from other technology contracts. For the final rule, TSA 
revised this estimate to 15 percent based on an internal Life Cycle 
Cost Estimate analysis of the passenger screening program.
    Finally, TSA addresses the use of random selection in its 
discussion of alternatives considered, apart from AIT, in Chapter 3 of 
the final rule's RIA.

EE. Benefits of the Proposed Rule

    Comments: Approximately 20 submissions directly addressed the 
benefits associated with the proposed rule. Many individual commenters 
and a non-profit organization stated that TSA did not quantify the 
benefits of AIT or provide documentation to support the claims made in 
the benefits analysis. One of the commenters stated that it is not 
acceptable for TSA to keep its risk-based benefits analysis 
confidential, and urged TSA to assess the risk of a terrorist attack 
relative to the risks associated with AIT (e.g., cancer and increased 
roadway fatalities). Another commenter recommended that TSA provide an 
estimate of how much AIT reduces the probability of a successful 
terrorist attack, or provide a break-even analysis that would estimate 
the number of terrorist threats that must be prevented in order to 
cover the costs of the AIT. A non-profit organization stated that the 
risk reduction benefits that TSA claims in the analysis are not 
attributable to AIT because there have been no successful terrorist 
attacks originating from U.S. airports since September 11, 2001, even 
before TSA began deploying AIT scanners. Another commenter stated that 
AIT scanners provide negligible security benefits.
    Several individual commenters and a non-profit organization 
discussed benefits in terms of the number of attacks that need to be 
thwarted in order to justify the costs of the AIT rule. Some of these 
commenters, including two non-profit organizations, cited a research 
study that concluded AIT would need to avert more than one attack 
originating from a U.S. airport every 2 years in order to justify the 
cost of the scanners. The commenters stated that AIT would not achieve 
this threshold. An individual commenter suggested that had AIT scanners 
been used over the last 12 years, only two attacks would have been 
avoided. The commenter stated this would not have justified the cost. 
Another individual commenter stated that people are more at risk of 
dying in motor vehicle accidents than in a terrorist attack on an 
airplane originating in the United States. The commenter concluded that 
AIT would not be the most efficient approach to reducing risk. Other 
commenters stated that AIT would not increase security to the degree 
TSA claims until deployed in every airport and every security lane. A 
commenter argued that because ``a potential terrorist intent on downing 
an airliner with body-borne explosives would need only to observe which 
airports or security areas lack [AIT] scanners to defeat the security 
measure.'' The commenter suggested that the absence of an attack could 
not be attributed to AIT.
    Some commenters recommended types of benefits that should be 
analyzed. An individual commenter suggested that TSA quantify the 
benefits of the rule in terms of lives saved and avoided disruptions to 
the economy. Another commenter stated that the analysis should consider 
the potential benefits of reallocating the costs associated with AIT to 
other screening methods.
    TSA Response: TSA disagrees that AIT provides no security benefits. 
Contrary to commenters' belief that the lack of successful attacks 
shows AIT offers no security benefits, TSA believes the lack of 
successful attacks actually lends support to the opposite conclusion. 
Given the continued threat to commercial aviation from terrorist 
attacks, and the fact that the shift to nonmetallic explosives by 
terrorists presents a serious threat to homeland security, TSA needs 
technology capable of detecting non-metallic objects. AIT is a proven 
technology based on laboratory testing and field experience that 
provides the best opportunity to detect metallic and non-metallic 
anomalies concealed under clothing without the need to touch the 
passenger. In addition to AIT's ability to detect concealed objects, 
TSA also believes AIT offers a powerful deterrence effect. Morral and 
Jackson (2009) stated, ``Deterrence is also a major factor in the cost-
effectiveness of many security programs. For instance, even if a 
radiation-detection system at ports never actually encounters weapon 
material, if it deters would be attackers from trying to smuggle such 
material into the country, it could easily be cost-effective even if 
associated program costs are very high.''\120\ Given the demonstrated 
ability of AIT to detect concealed metallic and non-metallic objects, 
it is reasonable to assume that AIT acts as a deterrent to attacks 
involving the smuggling of a metallic or non-metallic weapon or 
explosive on board a commercial airplane. As an essential component in 
airports' compressive security system that can detect a non-metallic 
weapon or explosive concealed under a person's clothing, AIT plays a 
vital role in decreasing the vulnerability of

[[Page 11394]]

commercial air travel to a terrorist attack.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \120\ Andrew R. Morral, Brian A. Jackson., ``Understanding the 
Role of Deterrence in Counterterrorism Security,'' 2009, Rand 
Homeland Security Program, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP281.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other commenters stated that AIT might provide some level of 
security benefits, but that it was not worth the cost. Commenters 
stated the risk reduction benefits of AIT in particular made it a poor 
investment and that people are more at risk of dying in motor vehicle 
accidents than in a terrorist attack on an airplane originating in the 
United States. One commenter stated that risk of a terrorist attack to 
commercial aviation is so low that it is a risk that can be endured by 
the public. TSA disagrees that the risk reduction attributable to AIT 
does not make AIT worth using. TSA is charged with safeguarding the 
travelling public with respect to aviation and fulfilling legal 
mandates. Risk and national security are complex issues and commenters 
may not be considering that a perceived low level of risk may be due to 
deterrence provided by AIT or other national security efforts to 
prevent such attacks.
    Another commenter stated that the benefits from AIT would not be 
fully realized until AIT is deployed at every airport and in every 
checkpoint lane. While TSA did not provide monetized benefits or 
``degree of benefits,'' TSA did describe the fact that AIT is the only 
technology currently available for field deployment that can detect 
both metallic and non-metallic weapons and explosives. Additionally, 
implementing an ``all or nothing'' strategy for airport security 
ignores the fact that some airports are at a higher risk for a 
terrorist attack than others are. TSA uses a risk-based approach to 
deploy AIT machines in airports that are considered higher-risk in 
order to try to minimize risk to commercial air travel given TSA's 
finite resources. Other commenters stated that AIT is a poor investment 
for screening and that TSA should use its funds in another technology 
or manner altogether. Another commenter argued that the baseline 
security infrastructure (pre-AIT) is capable of handling the current 
level of risk to commercial air travel. Both conclusions discount the 
fact that currently, AIT is the only screening technology able to 
detect a non-metallic weapon or explosives concealed under a person's 
clothing. Eliminating AIT would increase the risk to successful 
terrorist attacks than what is currently incurred because it would 
leave commercial air travel more vulnerable to an attack with a non-
metallic weapon or explosive. The commenters also stated that the risk 
of a terrorist attack to commercial air travel was less than that of a 
fatal motor vehicle accident. It is unclear to TSA how the risk 
associated with motor vehicles should influence TSA's decision making 
on airport screening practices. Regardless of the safety or security 
risks associated with other modes of transportation, TSA should pursue 
the most effective security measures reasonably available so that the 
vulnerability of commercial air travel to terrorist attacks is reduced.
    Commenters that consider only the most easily quantifiable impacts 
of a terrorist attack, such as the direct cost of an airplane crashing, 
are only considering a portion of the impacts of an attack. As TSA 
explained in the NPRM's Initial RIA, terrorist attacks not only cause 
direct costs in lives lost and property damage, but also cause 
substantial indirect effects and social costs (such as fear) that are 
harder to measure but which must also be considered by TSA when 
deciding whether an investment in security is cost-beneficial. For 
example, Ackerman and Heinzerling state ``. . . terrorism `works' 
through the fear and demoralization caused by uncontrollable 
uncertainty. Efforts to offset this fear by attaching necessarily 
arbitrary numbers to the probabilities of being harmed by a terrorist 
seem, especially in a post-September 11 world, ridiculous.'' \121\ In 
addition, Pidgeon, Kasperson and Slovic state the 9/11 attacks had 
consequences that spanned ``a range of behavioral, economic, and social 
impacts.'' \122\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \121\ Frank Ackerman and Lisa Heinzerling, ``Priceless: On 
Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing,'' 136-137 
(2004).
    \122\ Nick Pidgeon, Roger E. Kasperson, and Paul Slovic, ``The 
Social Amplification of Risk,'' p. 16, 2003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, AIT use is fully consistent with TSA's mandate. The 
Administrator of TSA has overall responsibility for civil aviation 
security, and Congress has conferred on him authority to carry out that 
responsibility.\123\ Federal law requires that he ``assess threats to 
transportation,'' and ``develop policies, strategies, and plans for 
dealing with threats to transportation security.'' \124\ TSA agrees 
that it should incorporate consideration of costs and other factors 
into its risk management practices, see, e.g., 49 U.S.C. 44903(b), but 
notwithstanding the suggestion of a number of commenters, it would be 
plainly contrary to congressional intent for TSA to ignore known 
terrorism risks to aviation security by relying on outdated screening 
practices until the next attack proves the commenters wrong. Based on 
TSA's experience using AIT in the airport environment, TSA believes 
that the use of AIT satisfies the express mandate of Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \123\ 49 U.S.C. 114(d).
    \124\ 49 U.S.C. 114(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA has added break-even analysis to the benefits section in the 
final rule. According to OMB Circular No. A-4, ``Regulatory Analysis,'' 
the break-even analysis answers the question, ``How small could the 
value of the non-quantified benefits be (or how large would the value 
of the non-quantified costs need to be) before the rule would yield 
zero net benefits?'' \125\ In both the NPRM and final rule RIAs, TSA 
also provided a qualitative assessment of the benefits of AIT. Low 
probability, high consequence events such as terrorist attacks are 
difficult to measure with any level of certainty. TSA analyzed the 
threats to the aviation sector and found that the use of AIT reduces 
the risk of metallic and non-metallic threats to airport security as 
described in Chapter 4 in both the NPRM and final rule RIAs. Both RIAs 
also qualitatively described some of the indirect impacts from a 
successful attack on commercial air travel. Specifically, TSA noted how 
the 9/11 attacks caused a negative impact on gross domestic product 
growth and that fear, a social cost, can lead to other social costs 
which would cause the economy to suffer if people are afraid to fly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \125\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a004_a-4/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FF. Other Impacts of the Proposed Rule

    Comments: Many submissions addressed health impacts associated with 
the proposed rule. Several individual commenters identified alleged 
health impacts that TSA should have accounted for in the cost-benefit 
analysis. The commenters suggested that the analysis should include 
costs or risk information for radiation-related illness, emotional 
distress, and special medical conditions.
    Commenters also stated that using AIT scanners would lead to lost 
or stolen property. Another commenter stated that the RIA failed to 
account for decreases in economic productivity because of the rule. 
Further, an individual commenter suggested that the proposed rule is 
not justified because the investment in AIT scanners would not reduce 
mortality by as much as other government programs or initiatives. In 
particular, the commenter suggested that AIT would not prevent terror 
attacks but would instead redirect them to alternate locations. Another 
commenter stated that the analysis should consider the use of newer

[[Page 11395]]

technologies that might work better and cost less.
    TSA Response: With regard to comments on health concerns, the 
millimeter wave AIT systems used by TSA comply with the 2005 IEEE 
Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio 
Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (IEEE Std.C95.1TM-2005) as well as the 
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection 
Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time-Varying Electric, Magnetic, 
and Electromagnetic Fields, Health Physics 74(4); 494-522, published 
April 1998. TSA's millimeter wave units are also consistent with 
Federal Communications Commission OET Bulletin 65, Health Canada Safety 
Code, and RSS-102 Issue 3 for Canada. The FDA also confirmed that 
millimeter wave security systems that comply with the IEEE Std. 
C95.1TM-2005 cause no known adverse health effects.
    TSA also addressed potential health concerns regarding the ionizing 
radiation emitted by general-use backscatter technology. The radiation 
dose a passenger receives from a general-use backscatter AIT screening 
has been independently evaluated by the FDA's Center for Devices and 
Radiological Health, the National Institute for Standards and 
Technology, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 
and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. All results 
affirmed that the radiation dose for individuals being screened, 
operators, and bystanders was well below the dose limits specified by 
ANSI/HPS N43.17.
    TSA does not believe, and no compelling evidence has been 
submitted, that AIT increases the risk of lost or stolen property. 
Passengers are able to monitor their bags prior to submission into the 
x-ray machine and after x-ray screening is completed. The deployment of 
AIT does not create vulnerabilities in the security system since 
testing and experience have shown that AIT is the best technology 
currently available to detect metallic and nonmetallic threats (see 
Chapter 4 of both the NPRM and final rule RIA).
    TSA does not believe, and no credible evidence has been submitted, 
that AITs reduce economic productivity. With regard to comments that 
AIT does not reduce mortality rates as much as other government 
programs or initiatives, the funding of other government programs is 
beyond the scope of this rule. Regardless of the effectiveness of other 
governments programs, TSA should pursue the most effective security 
measures so that the vulnerability of commercial air travel to 
terrorist attacks is reduced. TSA conducted an alternatives analysis 
and found AIT to be the most effective countermeasure for both metallic 
and non-metallic items concealed under a person's clothing. With 
respect to AIT redirecting attacks to other targets, TSA does not 
believe that the existence of other targets precludes TSA from ensuring 
the security of commercial air travel, which has a high level of risk. 
TSA included the costs of research and development for AIT and for the 
deployment of AIT technology (see Chapter 2 in both the NPRM and final 
rule RIA). TSA will continue to conduct research and evaluate new 
technologies to enhance transportation security.

GG. Regulatory Alternatives

    Comments: Some submissions commented on Alternative 1 (no action). 
Several individual commenters and non-profit organizations expressed 
support for Alternative 1, and urged TSA to revert to the use of metal 
detectors as the primary screening method.
    Multiple submissions also commented on Alternative 2 (combination 
of WTMD and pat-down). Several commenters suggested that screening 
consisting of pat-downs and metal detectors would be sufficient. A few 
commenters suggested that because AIT scanners are not effective and 
are intrusive, a combination of WTMD and pat-down screening should be 
used instead.
    Many submissions commented on Alternative 3 (combination of WTMD 
and ETD screening). Individual commenters, a non-profit organization, 
and advocacy groups expressed support for Alternative 3 without 
providing additional substantive comment. Commenters suggested that the 
use of ETDs and WTMDs are more effective, less costly, and less 
intrusive.
    Many submissions discussed other alternatives for TSA 
consideration. A non-profit organization, a privacy advocacy group, and 
individual commenters recommended that TSA return to using WTMDs and 
hand-wand metal detectors during the screening process. Other 
commenters urged TSA to rely on traditional police and intelligence 
work and canine explosives detection teams to detect and deter threats. 
A commenter recommended that TSA use mass spectrometry methods to 
detect threats in air samples. Other commenters suggested TSA explore 
other technologies to reduce reliance on AIT and pat-downs and to be 
able to detect explosives within body cavities. A non-profit 
organization recommended that TSA consider testing face recognition, 
explosives residue machines, and suspicious behavior systems for 
secondary screening. Another non-profit organization urged TSA to use 
less invasive screening technologies such as infrared imaging.
    TSA Response: With regard to Alternative 1, recent events 
demonstrating that terrorists may use nonmetallic explosives to take 
down an aircraft highlight the need for a technology capable of 
detecting non-metallic threats concealed on passengers. Alternative 1 
fails to address that threat. It also fails to meet the instruction 
provided in the Presidential Memorandum Regarding 12/25/2009 Attempted 
Terrorist Attack, issued January 7, 2010 as well as congressional 
directives. While this alternative imposes no additional cost burden, 
it does not mitigate the threat to aviation security posed by 
nonmetallic explosives and weapons. For this reason, TSA rejected this 
alternative in favor of deploying AIT to screening checkpoints.
    Alternative 2 is more physically intrusive than AIT, significantly 
increases the wait times and opportunity costs for the traveling 
public, and is more costly with respect to personnel because it 
requires more TSOs to meet the high volume of passengers. In addition, 
this alternative does not provide the same level of screening as AIT in 
detecting nonmetallic threats because not every passenger would receive 
a pat-down, particularly when used only on a random basis. Based on 
field tests, TSA estimates the pat-down procedure takes 150 seconds to 
perform (70 second average wait time for the same gender TSO to meet 
the passenger and 80 seconds to complete the pat-down procedure). 
Therefore, performing pat-downs on a significant number of passengers 
necessitates either a substantial increase in staffing levels to 
maintain the current passenger throughput level (approximately 150 
passengers per hour per lane) or abandonment of that throughput target 
altogether, with the attendant consequences for passengers described 
above. Finally, AIT is a machine-based methodology for detecting non-
metallic threat items, which provides a more consistent outcome over 
time. TSA anticipates future advancements to AIT in detection 
capability, throughput, and privacy protection. Due to the reasons 
outlined above, TSA rejected Alternative 2.
    With regard to Alternative 3, although ETDs would help reduce the 
risk of nonmetallic explosives being taken

[[Page 11396]]

through the checkpoint, ETDs cannot detect other dangerous items such 
as weapons and improvised explosive device components made of ceramics 
or plastics, whereas AIT is capable of detecting anomalies concealed 
under clothing. Second, incorporating ETD screening into the current 
checkpoint screening process would negatively affect the passenger's 
screening experience. ETD screening--from swab to test results--takes 
approximately 20-30 seconds. The mid-point of this range (25 seconds) 
would slow passenger throughput levels below the current rate of 150 
passengers per hour per lane, thereby possibly increasing passenger 
wait times and the associated opportunity cost. Third, while mechanical 
issues with ETDs are rare, throughput depends on the reliability and 
mechanical consistency of these machines. Additionally, alarms can and 
do occur from some innocuous products that may contain trace amounts of 
chemicals found in explosive materials, which may also impede 
throughput until the alarm is resolved. Finally, this alternative 
requires an increase in ETD consumables, including swabs and gloves. 
This imposes costs to keep sufficient amounts of these consumables in 
stock at all airports where TSA conducts screening. The logistical 
concerns of implementing this alternative, in addition to the limited 
capability of ETD screening to detect other non-explosive threats, are 
the reasons TSA rejected this alternative in favor of deploying AIT to 
mitigate the threat to aviation security posed by both metallic and 
nonmetallic weapons and explosives.
    Some of the other alternatives discussed in the comments, such as 
explosives detection canine and behavior detection screening, are not 
as effective as AIT in screening a large volume of passengers in the 
least amount of time and require additional costs; however, TSA does 
use such alternatives whenever available as added layers of security at 
the airport.

HH. Comparative Analysis Between AIT and Alternatives

    Comments: Many submissions addressed the adequacy of TSA's 
comparative analysis between AIT and the alternatives. Several 
commenters suggested that TSA did not provide an adequate justification 
for AIT relative to the alternatives. For example, a commenter stated 
that AIT is approximately 10 times more expensive than magnetometers, 
but that the analysis does not evaluate the costs and benefits of AIT 
against magnetometers. Another commenter recommended that TSA 
quantitatively compare the benefits of AIT to the baseline condition 
(e.g., by how much does AIT reduce the probability of a successful 
terrorist attack). A privacy advocacy group suggested that TSA does not 
adequately characterize AIT's effectiveness in comparison to the 
alternatives. The commenter also stated that the analysis does not 
support TSA's conclusions that AIT is more effective than the 
alternatives, and does not identify AIT's weaknesses relative to the 
alternatives. This privacy advocacy group and a non-profit organization 
both suggested that the analysis does not adequately compare the 
effectiveness of AIT to Regulatory Alternative 3. As a result, TSA does 
not acknowledge that WTMD and ETD can be just as effective as AIT, and 
in terms of shortcomings, ETD and AIT share some of the same 
disadvantages. An advocacy group suggested that the NPRM describes the 
proposed alternatives in ``all or nothing'' terms, rather than 
proposing a layered approach using a variety of the screening methods 
described in the alternatives.
    A few commenters made other recommendations to TSA with regard to 
alternatives. For example, an individual commenter urged TSA to conduct 
research on alternative screening technology, provide educational 
outreach on the security measures to the public, and train flight 
attendants and inform passengers of what to do in response to 
suspicious activity. A commenter recommended using AIT as a secondary 
screening method on a more limited basis. Another individual commenter 
asked why TSA does not require travelers to go through both AIT and 
WTMD. The commenter suggested that travelers should be subjected to 
both technologies.
    TSA Response: Chapters 3 in both the NPRM and final rule RIA list 
the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative and explain the 
basis for TSA's finding that none of the alternatives was preferable to 
AIT in addressing the threat of nonmetallic explosives concealed under 
clothing. For example, WTMDs (Alternative 1) and ETDs (Alternative 3) 
are not as effective as AIT in detecting non-metallic anomalies. Pat-
downs (Alternative 2) may be effective at detecting nonmetallic weapons 
but would place a greater burden on passengers as they are more 
physically intrusive and would increase wait times at the checkpoint.
    TSA does not use an ``all or nothing'' approach, as alleged in a 
comment. TSA uses a number of security measures to prevent attacks on 
commercial air travel. AIT is another security measure included in the 
multiple layers of security currently deployed. WTMDs, ETDs, and pat-
downs are also used for screening. TSA reviewed these alternatives with 
respect to risk reduction, cost, impact on passengers and operational 
feasibility and determined that AIT is the best technology currently 
available to detect metallic and nonmetallic threats concealed under 
clothing.

II. Other Comments on the Regulatory Impact Analysis

    Comments: Many commenters cited existing research on the costs and 
benefits of AIT, or recommended new research on the costs and benefits 
of AIT. Individual commenters and an advocacy group recommended that 
TSA conduct a study of the various impacts of AIT, including privacy 
impacts. Another commenter referred to an analysis of AIT, which, 
according to the commenter, found that AIT would need to prevent two or 
three terrorist attacks comparable to the September 11, 2001, attacks 
each year in order to be cost effective. An individual commenter cited 
a cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Journal of Homeland Security 
and Emergency Management and questioned the cost-effectiveness of AIT. 
An advocacy group concluded that independent, scholarly risk management 
and cost-benefit analyses of AIT have been conducted. According to the 
commenter, these studies have found that AIT scanners do not reduce 
risk sufficient to justify the costs. Another advocacy group suggested 
that a cost-benefit analysis of AIT would identify how effective the 
scanners are at deterring terrorism compared to screening alternatives. 
Another commenter requested that an independent party analyze the costs 
compared to other possible investments, such as traffic safety or 
cancer research.
    Several commenters declared that the cost-benefit analysis in the 
NPRM is insufficient and inadequate and referred to AIT as costly. The 
commenters suggested that the analysis does not justify the cost 
relative to the risks or improvement in TSA's ability to detect threats 
to safe air travel. A privacy advocacy group stated that TSA did not 
fully evaluate the costs and benefits of AIT as compared to WTMDs and 
ETDs, as required under Executive Orders (E.O.s) 13563 and 12866. An 
individual commenter urged TSA to account for all of the risks 
associated with AIT and include difficult-to-quantify costs in the 
analysis. A non-profit organization stated that despite their cost, AIT 
scanners are cost-beneficial in deterring

[[Page 11397]]

aviation terrorism when compared to pat-downs.
    TSA Response: TSA conducted a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis 
supported by the best available data. TSA was unable to quantify a 
dollar value for the perceived loss of privacy. While TSA was unable to 
produce a quantitative impact of perceived privacy issues, TSA included 
a discussion of the measures it took to mitigate the privacy concerns 
of AIT (Chapter 2 in both the NPRM and final rule RIA). In addition, 
Federal law requires all AIT to be equipped with and deploy ATR 
software, which does not produce an individual image, but instead 
displays a generic outline. TSA reviewed other cost-benefit analyses on 
AIT, including the ones cited by commenters, to inform its own cost-
benefit analysis. TSA has included a break-even analysis in this final 
rule, which answers the question, ``How small could the value of the 
non-quantified benefits be (or how large would the value of the non-
quantified costs need to be) before the rule would yield zero net 
benefits?'' and provides a qualitative assessment of the benefits of 
AIT. Low probability, high consequence events such as terrorist attacks 
are difficult to measure with any level of certainty. TSA analyzed 
threats to the aviation sector and found that the use of AIT reduces 
the risk of metallic and nonmetallic threats as described in the RIA. 
The RIA also qualitatively described some of the indirect impacts from 
a successful attack on commercial air travel (Chapter 2, page 98 in the 
NPRM RIA and Chapter 4 in the final rule RIA). TSA included a full RIA 
in the docket folder.

JJ. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Comments: Individual commenters and an advocacy group commented on 
TSA's Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA). A couple of 
commenters recommended that the analysis estimate the costs incurred by 
small business entities, such as sole proprietors. The commenters 
stated that the impacts on small entities would include time lost as 
well as lost revenue from tourists (e.g., fewer air travelers, both 
foreign and domestic). An advocacy group urged TSA to withdraw the 
NPRM, prepare an RFA analysis that accounts for the impacts on small 
entities, and provide another opportunity for comment. The commenter 
suggested that the NPRM erroneously excludes individuals from the 
definition of ``small entities.'' The commenter stated that many 
individual travelers are self-employed individuals and sole proprietors 
that qualify as small entities. The commenter estimated that the impact 
on ``small entities'' is at least $2.8 billion per year.
    TSA Response: Individuals are not considered ``small entities'' 
based on the definitions in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 
601) and therefore were not considered in our IRFA. The definition of 
``small entities'' in the RFA comprises small businesses, not-for-
profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and are 
not dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with 
populations of less than 50,000. The RFA does not state the definition 
of ``small entities'' extends to ``individuals.'' TSA does agree as a 
general matter that a sole proprietor could be a small business if the 
individual is acting as a business, potentially generating revenues and 
incurring business costs. Nevertheless, TSA considered individuals in 
Chapter 6 of the RIA and determined that the main impact on a person 
traveling would be the extended wait time if that person opts out of 
AIT screening and undergoes a pat-down. As stated in both the NPRM and 
final rule RIA, AIT does not increase wait time for the general 
traveling public. TSA measured the ratio of individuals who opt-out of 
AIT to be approximately one percent of the total volume of passengers 
screened. Additionally, the pat-down for individuals who opt-out is 
estimated to be 150 additional seconds per screening and would not 
reflect a significant opportunity cost impact ($1.88 per screening).

KK. Other Regulatory Analyses

    Comments: A few individual commenters suggested that TSA should 
have performed an Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) analysis. A 
commenter stated that the proposed rule would affect State, local, and 
tribal governments because of the increased road traffic caused by the 
rule (i.e., travelers substituting motor vehicle travel for air 
travel). The commenter explained that TSA failed to account for costs 
associated with State, local, and tribal governments responding to 
additional motor vehicle accidents and providing additional road 
maintenance. Another commenter stated that the costs of the rule would 
be passed onto passengers in the form of the September 11th Security 
Fee, which would be a burden triggering an analysis under the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.
    A non-profit organization and an individual commenter suggested 
that the proposed rule would have a substantial direct effect on States 
under E.O. 13132, Federalism. Both commenters discussed the experience 
of Texas, which attempted to pass an anti-groping law that would have 
affected TSA's screening process. According to the commenters, news 
reports stated that TSA sent the Texas legislature a letter threatening 
to close all Texas airports if the bill passed. The commenters 
suggested that TSA's interference with a State legislature's activity 
demonstrates the substantial direct effect AIT would have on States. A 
commenter also explained that States are responsible for inspecting 
radiological devices and licensing unit operators. As a result, the 
commenter suggested that the rule would require State governments to 
inspect the AIT units and license operators of AIT units, which would 
have a direct effect on States.
    Two individual commenters stated that TSA must prepare an 
environmental impact statement in accordance with National 
Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). One of the commenters urged TSA to 
assess the human health impacts associated with AIT. The other 
commenter explained that the environmental impact statement would need 
to assess the impact of increased motor vehicle travel (e.g., air 
pollution, traffic, and car accidents) on the environment.
    TSA Response: TSA disagrees with comments regarding the UMRA. TSA 
determined that an UMRA analysis is not needed for the AIT NPRM as such 
an analysis is required if a proposed rulemaking ``results in the 
expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more (adjusted annually 
for inflation) in any 1 year.'' As described in the RIA, 98 percent of 
the cost of AIT falls on the Federal Government. The remaining costs 
fall on airports who do not receive reimbursement for their utilities. 
These entities have an estimated utilities cost of $1.63 million 
(Chapter 2, of the final rule RIA). In addition, the Passenger Civil 
Aviation Security Service fee is set in statute and in TSA's 
regulations. See 49 U.S.C. 44940 and 49 CFR 1510.5. TSA did not propose 
to increase the fee in the NPRM.
    TSA disagrees with comments claiming that deployment of AIT has a 
federalism impact. Federal law requires that screening be carried out 
by a Federal Government employee. 49 U.S.C. 44901(a). Prior to the 
creation of TSA, passenger screening was the responsibility of air 
carriers pursuant to regulations issued by FAA. Passenger screening is 
not conducted by State employees, and the final rule does not have a 
substantial direct effect on the

[[Page 11398]]

states, the relationship between the Federal Government and the states, 
or on the distribution of power among the various levels of government. 
As to the proposed state legislation referred to by some commenters, 
note that Congress by statute made TSA responsible for passenger 
screening. 49 U.S.C. 114 and 44901. This AIT rulemaking does not alter 
that relationship.
    Finally, an environmental impact statement under NEPA is not 
required. There is no evidence that use of AIT to screen passengers 
will have a non-negligible impact on motor vehicle travel. In addition, 
independent studies have confirmed that the exposure to non-ionizing 
electromagnetic waves from the millimeter wave AIT machines is below 
the limits allowed under relevant national health and safety standards 
and cause no known adverse health effects.

LL. Comments on the Risk Analysis

    Comments: Many commenters addressed the issue of risk, risk 
management, and risk-reduction analysis. Some commenters suggested that 
the risks AIT is meant to mitigate do not justify the costs associated 
with AIT. One commenter stated that over the past 12 years, AIT 
scanners would not have prevented enough attacks to justify the costs 
(i.e., only two bombings in the past 12 years and a cost of $3.6 
billion). A non-profit commenter, an advocacy group, and an individual 
commenter all referenced a recent study to explain that the existing 
risk of a terrorist attack on an airliner does not justify the costs of 
AIT.
    Another set of commenters urged TSA to provide a detailed risk 
reduction analysis to support the rulemaking, such as the classified 
version that TSA cited in the NPRM. The commenters suggested that TSA 
at least release a redacted version or a summary of its risk-reduction 
analysis of AIT. A non-profit organization stated that TSA is obligated 
to disclose whether AIT would be cost-effective in reducing this risk. 
The commenter cited another risk-reduction analysis that was published 
by academic researchers in a peer-reviewed journal to indicate that 
these analyses can be published without revealing technical details or 
threat information that may legitimately be kept confidential.
    An individual commenter recommended that TSA design the AIT rule so 
that the agency would be able to conduct a ``look back'' analysis after 
the rule is implemented. The commenter explained that TSA would be able 
to collect empirical data on impacts such as AIT's effectiveness of 
detecting various security threats, and the amount of time added to the 
security screening process. Another individual commenter referenced the 
report and suggested that TSA analyze the cost and benefits of AIT in 
the areas of personal privacy, freedom, and convenience.
    TSA Response: TSA uses internal information on screening 
capability, effectiveness, feasibility of airport screening, and costs 
to determine the implementation of security technology and procedures. 
Because of the sensitive nature of information on screening standard 
operating procedures, this information and any corresponding policy 
decisions remain classified and unavailable to the public. TSA included 
a break-even analysis in the final rule RIA that answers the question, 
``How small could the value of the non-quantified benefits be (or how 
large would the value of the non-quantified costs need to be) before 
the rule would yield zero net benefits?'' This methodology is used in 
peer-reviewed journals and recommended by OMB Circular A-4 when 
benefits are difficult to quantify. In addition, given that TSA piloted 
and deployed AIT in 2007 and 2008, TSA has already conducted ``look-
back'' analysis and has implemented program changes based on optimal 
risk-reduction.

MM. Other Comments on the NPRM

    Comments: Some individual commenters made statements that because 
air travel is not as dangerous as other modes of transportation, 
resources should be directed to other transportation safety and high-
profile events. Individual commenters suggested that the use of AIT 
might become common in other venues where security searches occur 
including courthouses, schools, stadiums, political rallies, and other 
places. An individual commenter stated that since TSA staff does not 
follow the ``liquid policy,'' it should be eliminated for travelers. 
According to the same commenter, the ``shoe policy'' could also be 
eliminated because shoes can be screened with WTMDs. A community 
organization provided a list of goals for airport security.
    Some individual commenters stated that TSA staff is not trained in 
screening techniques or on how to behave professionally. A few 
individual commenters suggested that TSA create a process to hold TSA 
employees accountable for their actions. Individual commenters 
recommended that employees wear badges with contact information, such 
as their full name and badge number. A commenter also recommended that 
TSA place employees on probation for receiving three or more customer 
service reports within 6 months. Another individual commenter suggested 
that TSA publicize any existing processes for anonymous reporting. A 
few individual commenters expressed concern and provided information 
regarding the reported off-duty criminal activities of TSA screeners. 
Several commenters stated generally that the security at airports has 
not increased the safety of air travel.
    TSA Response: The information TSA receives from intelligence-
gathering agencies confirms that civil aviation remains a favored 
target for extremists and terror organizations. However, TSA has 
authority over all modes of transportation. With respect to maritime 
and surface transportation, TSA has always applied a risk-based 
approach to safeguard the movement of people and commerce. Such an 
approach provides flexibility to adjust to changing travel patterns and 
the ever-shifting threat environment. TSA conducts Visible Intermodal 
Prevention and Response operations across the country to prevent or 
disrupt potential terrorist planning activities. In addition, TSA often 
works with other Federal, State, and local government agencies to 
enhance security during special events, such as the Super Bowl and 
presidential inaugurations.
    TSA is continually updating and enhancing the training of its TSOs 
to improve effectiveness and to reinforce that screening be conducted 
in a professional and courteous manner. TSA investigates all 
allegations of misconduct and takes appropriate action, which can 
include referral to law enforcement and termination of employment. TSOs 
wear identification badges. TSA's Web site, at www.tsa.gov/contact-us, 
provides information on various ways to contact TSA to ask questions 
and provide feedback. The TSA Contact Center is open seven days a week, 
and individuals may call 1-800-289-9673 or email at [email protected]. There is a direct link to an on-line form that 
travelers may fill out and submit.
    TSA believes that its layers of security have vastly improved the 
security posture of the Nation's transportation systems. A terrorist 
has to overcome multiple security measures in order to carry out an 
attack and is more likely to be pre-empted, deterred, or fail during 
the attempt.

[[Page 11399]]

III. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

A. International Compatibility

    In keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on 
International Civil Aviation, it is TSA policy to comply with ICAO 
Standards and Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. 
TSA determined that there are no ICAO Standards and Recommended 
Practices that correspond to this regulation.

B. Economic Impact Analyses

1. Regulatory Impact Analysis Summary
    Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic 
analyses. First, E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review (58 FR 
51735, October 4, 1993), as supplemented by E.O. 13563, Improving 
Regulation and Regulatory Review (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), 
directs each Federal agency to propose or adopt a regulation only upon 
a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation 
justify its costs. Second, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996) requires agencies to analyze 
the economic impact of regulatory changes on small entities. Third, the 
Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2531-2533) prohibits agencies from 
setting standards that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign 
commerce of the United States. Fourth, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) requires agencies to prepare a written 
assessment of the costs, benefits, and other effects of proposed or 
final rules that include a Federal mandate likely to result in the 
expenditure by State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector, of $100 million or more annually (adjusted 
for inflation).
    In conducting these analyses, TSA has determined:
    1. This rule is a significant regulatory action that is 
economically significant under sec. 3(f)(1) of E.O. 12866. Accordingly, 
the OMB has reviewed this regulation.
    2. A Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis suggests this rulemaking 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.
    3. This rulemaking would not constitute a barrier to international 
trade.
    4. This rulemaking does not impose an unfunded mandate on State, 
local, or tribal governments, or on the private sector.

These analyses, available in the docket, are summarized below.
2. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 Assessment
    Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the 
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive 
Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and 
benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting 
flexibility.
    When estimating the cost of a rulemaking, agencies typically 
estimate future expected costs imposed by a regulation over a period of 
analysis. For this RIA, TSA uses a 10-year period of analysis to align 
with the 10-year AIT life cycle from deployment to disposal.\126\ TSA 
has revised the NPRM RIA assumption of an 8-year life cycle for AIT 
units to 10 years based on a recent LCCE report\127\ from the OSC, 
which evaluated the performance metrics, and maintenance data from AIT 
units at airports. AIT deployment began in 2008, and TSA, therefore, 
includes costs that have already been borne by TSA, the traveling 
public, industry, and airports. Consequently, the RIA takes into 
account costs that have already occurred--in years 2008-2014--in 
addition to the projected costs in years 2015-2017. By reporting the 
costs that have already happened and estimating future costs in this 
manner, TSA accounts for the full life-cycle of AIT machines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \126\ In the NPRM RIA, the AIT life cycle was estimated to be 
eight years. Therefore, the period of analysis for the RIA was also 
eight years.
    \127\ TSA's Office of Security Capabilities (OSC), ``Life Cycle 
Cost Estimate for Passenger Screening Program'' March 10, 2014. 
Lifecycle revisions are based on recent a useful life study for each 
type of transportation security equipment. These are TSA internal 
sensitive information reports based on OSC technology assessments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA presents AIT costs in tables 2 through 4. Table 2 reports the 
total costs from 2008-2014 to be $1,439.32 million (undiscounted).

                                                                     Table 2--Cost Summary from 2008-2014 by Cost Component
                                                                                  [In $millions, undiscounted]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Passenger        Airport                                TSA costs                            Industry costs
                              Year                                  opportunity      utilities   ----------------------------------------------------------------   backscatter        Total
                                                                       costs           costs         Personnel       Training        Equipment       Utilities        removal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008............................................................           $0.01           $0.01          $10.27           $0.00          $34.04           $0.02           $0.00          $44.34
2009............................................................            0.02            0.01           12.05            0.57           28.01            0.02            0.00           40.69
2010............................................................            0.42            0.13           57.20           33.64          118.66            0.23            0.00          210.28
2011............................................................            3.17            0.15          201.83           57.06           76.86            0.26            0.00          339.33
2012............................................................            5.28            0.28          219.75           23.31          101.59            0.37            0.00          350.58
2013............................................................            4.45            0.25          197.77           14.37           46.70            0.34            1.90          265.79
2014............................................................            3.05            0.18          131.22           12.21           41.28            0.37            0.00          188.31
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           16.40            1.02          830.09          141.16          447.14            1.61            1.90        1,439.32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding.

    Table 3 reports total costs for projected years 2015-2017 to be 
$706.99 million (undiscounted), $666.47 million discounted at three 
percent, and $618.18 million discounted at seven percent.

[[Page 11400]]



                                                                     Table 3--Costs Summary from 2015-2017 by Cost Component
                                                                                         [In $millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Passenger                                                          TSA costs
                            Year                                opportunity     Airport utilities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------       Total
                                                                   costs              costs            Personnel           Training          Equipment          Utilities
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015.......................................................              $4.12              $0.20            $141.96             $41.25             $49.75              $0.40            $237.68
2016.......................................................               4.20               0.20             141.96              54.89              25.06               0.40             226.72
2017.......................................................               4.28               0.20             141.96              69.30              26.45               0.41             242.60
                                                            ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total..................................................              12.59               0.61             425.89             165.45             101.25               1.20             706.99
    Total (Discounted at 3%)...............................              11.87               0.57             401.55             155.22              96.12               1.13             666.47
    Total (Discounted at 7%)...............................              11.01               0.53             372.55             143.07              89.97               1.05             618.18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding.

    Table 4 reports total costs for years 2008-2017 to be $2,146.31 
million (undiscounted). During 2008-2017, TSA estimates that personnel 
and equipment life cycle costs are the largest categories of 
expenditures.

                                                                  Table 4--Total Cost Summary from 2008-2017 by Cost Component
                                                                                  [In $millions, undiscounted]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Passenger        Airport                                TSA costs                            Industry costs
                              Year                                  opportunity      utilities   ----------------------------------------------------------------   backscatter        Total
                                                                       costs           costs         Personnel       Training        Equipment       Utilities        removal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008............................................................           $0.01           $0.01          $10.27           $0.00          $34.04           $0.02           $0.00          $44.34
2009............................................................            0.02            0.01           12.05            0.57           28.01            0.02            0.00           40.69
2010............................................................            0.42            0.13           57.20           33.64          118.66            0.23            0.00          210.28
2011............................................................            3.17            0.15          201.83           57.06           76.86            0.26            0.00          339.33
2012............................................................            5.28            0.28          219.75           23.31          101.59            0.37            0.00          350.58
2013............................................................            4.45            0.25          197.77           14.37           46.70            0.34            1.90          265.79
2014............................................................            3.05            0.18          131.22           12.21           41.28            0.37            0.00          188.31
2015*...........................................................            4.12            0.20          141.96           41.25           49.75            0.40            0.00          237.68
2016*...........................................................            4.20            0.20          141.96           54.89           25.06            0.40            0.00          226.72
2017*...........................................................            4.28            0.20          141.96           69.30           26.45            0.41            0.00          242.60
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           28.99            1.63        1,255.98          306.61          548.39            2.81            1.90        2,146.31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding.

    Implementing AIT into the passenger screening program is beneficial 
because it enhances commercial aviation security. AIT improves security 
by assisting TSA in the detection of non-metallic, as well as metallic, 
explosives concealed under the clothing of passengers. Terrorists 
continue to test our security measures in an attempt to find and 
exploit vulnerabilities (see the Background section in this preamble). 
The threat to aviation security has evolved to include the use of non-
metallic explosives, non-metallic explosive devices, and non-metallic 
weapons. The examples presented below highlight the increased real 
world threats of non-metallic explosives to commercial aviation:
     On December 22, 2001, on board an airplane bound for the 
United States, Richard Reid attempted to detonate a non-metallic bomb 
concealed in his shoe.
     On December 25, 2009, a bombing plot by AQAP culminated in 
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to blow up an American aircraft 
over the United States using a non-metallic explosive device hidden in 
his underwear.
     In October 2010, AQAP attempted to destroy two airplanes 
in flight using non-metallic explosives hidden in two printer 
cartridges.
     In May 2012, AQAP developed another non-metallic explosive 
device that could be hidden in an individual's underwear and detonated 
while on board an aircraft.
    The deployment of AIT generates benefits that come from reducing 
security risks through AIT, which is capable of detecting both metallic 
and non-metallic weapons and explosives.\128\ Terrorists continue to 
test our security measures in an attempt to find and exploit 
vulnerabilities. The threat to aviation security has evolved to include 
the use of non-metallic explosives. AIT is a proven technology based on 
laboratory testing and field experience and is an essential component 
of TSA's security screening because it provides the best opportunity to 
detect metallic and non-metallic anomalies concealed under clothing 
without the need to touch the passenger.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \128\ Metal detectors and AITs are both designed to detect 
metallic threats on passengers, but go about it in different ways. 
Metal detectors rely on the inductance that is generated by the 
metal, while AIT relies on the metal's reflectivity properties to 
indicate an anomaly. AIT capabilities exceed metal detectors because 
it can detect metallic/non-metallic weapons, non-metallic bulk 
explosives and non-metallic liquid explosives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA uses a break-even analysis to frame the relationship between 
the potential benefits of the rulemaking and the costs of implementing 
the rule. When it is not possible to quantify or monetize a majority of 
the incremental benefits of a regulation, OMB recommends conducting a 
threshold, or ``break-even'' analysis. According to OMB Circular No. A-
4, ``Regulatory Analysis,'' such an analysis answers the question, 
``How small could the value of the non-quantified benefits be (or how 
large would the value of the nonquantified costs need to be) before the 
rule would yield zero net benefits?'' \129\ In the break-even analysis, 
TSA compared the annualized cost for the deployment of AIT to the major

[[Page 11401]]

direct benefits of preventing several potential terrorist attack 
scenarios.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \129\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a004_a-4/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA used five types of aircrafts to represent five different 
scenarios where an attacker detonates a body-bomb on a domestic 
passenger aircraft, the type of attack AIT is meant to mitigate. The 
five types of aircraft fall into two assigned categories: High-
capacity, long range aircraft typically used for international travel; 
and medium-capacity and long-range aircraft typically used for cross-
country travel or popular routes. TSA used the Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics' T-100 \130\ data bank from 2014 to determine the most 
popular aircraft models for the two categories of 
aircrafts.131 132 TSA also used the T-100 from 2014 to 
determine the average load factor for each aircraft type.\133\ These 
aircrafts were used in the break-even analysis and are listed below 
along with their specifications:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \130\ U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, ``T-100 Data bank.'' http://www.transtats.bts.gov/DatabaseInfo.asp?DB_ID=111.
    \131\ U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, ``T-100 Domestic Segment (All carriers) 
Data bank,'' http://www.transtats.bts.gov/DL_SelectFields.asp?Table_ID=311&DB_Short_Name=Air. Selected fields: 
DepPerformed, Aircraft Type, and Year = 2014, All months.
    \132\ Boeing 737-700/700LR, Boeing 737-800, and Airbus A320-100/
200 are the first-, fourth-, and fifth-most often-used aircrafts in 
2014, respectively.
    \133\ U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, ``T-100 Domestic Segment (All carriers) 
Data bank,'' http://www.transtats.bts.gov/DL_SelectFields.asp?Table_ID=311&DB_Short_Name=Air. Selected fields: 
Seats, Passengers, Aircraft Type, and Year = 2014, All months.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

High Capacity
     Airbus A380-Airbus' long-range aircraft with a 544 seat 
capacity \134\ and an average crew size of 13 (557 occupancy total) 
\135\ with a market value of $428.0 million.\136\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \134\ Airbus.com, ``A380 Dimensions & Key Data.'' Accessed Aug. 
12, 2015. http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/passengeraircraft/a380family/specifications/.
    \135\ Estimated thirteen crew members is a TSA assumption. This 
estimate is based on the crew consisting of a pilot, copilot, flight 
engineer, and ten flight attendants. The number of flight attendants 
is based on the minimum requirements from 14 CFR 121.391, which 
state there must be at least one flight attendant per 50 passenger 
seats.
    \136\ Airbus.com, ``New Airbus aircraft list prices for 2015,'' 
http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/new-airbus-aircraft-list-prices-for-2015/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Boeing 777-200LR-Boeing's long-range aircraft with 317 
seat capacity \137\ and an average crew size of 9 (323 occupancy total) 
\138\ and a market value of $305.0 million.\139\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \137\ Boeing.com, ``777-200/-200ER Technical Characteristics.'' 
Accessed Aug. 12, 2015. http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/777family/pf/pf_200product.page.
    \138\ Estimated nine crew members is a TSA assumption. This 
estimate is based on the crew consisting of a pilot, copilot, flight 
engineer, and six flight attendants. The number of flight attendants 
is based on the minimum requirements from 14 CFR 121.391, which 
state there must be at least one flight attendant per 50 passenger 
seats.
    \139\ Boeing.com, ``Commercial Airplanes Jet Prices, 2014 
price,'' http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/prices/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Medium Capacity
     Boeing 737-700-A medium-range aircraft with a seating 
capacity range between 126 and 149 (median of 138 used to represent 
passengers and crew) \140\ and a market value of $78.3 million.\141\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \140\ Boeing.com, ``737-700 Technical Characteristics.'' 
Accessed Aug. 12, 2015. http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/737family/pf/pf_700tech.page.
    \141\ Boeing.com, ``Commercial Airplanes Jet Prices, 2014 
price,'' http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/prices/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Boeing 737-800-A medium-range aircraft with a seating 
capacity range between 162 and 189 (median of 176 used to represent 
passengers and crew) \142\ and a market value of $93.3 million.\143\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \142\ Boeing.com, ``737-800 Technical Characteristics.'' 
Accessed Aug. 12, 2015. http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/737family/pf/pf_800tech.page?
    \143\ Boeing.com, ``Commercial Airplanes Jet Prices, in 2014 
price,'' http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/prices/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Airbus A320-100/200-A medium-range aircraft with a 150 
seat capacity \144\ and crew size of 6 (156 occupancy total) \145\ and 
a market value of $97.0 million.\146\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \144\ Airbus.com, ``A320 Setting single aisle standards, 
Dimensions & Key Data.'' Accessed August 12, 2015. http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/passengeraircraft/a320family/a320/specifications/.
    \145\ Estimated six crew members is a TSA assumption. This 
estimate is based on the crew consisting of a pilot, copilot, flight 
engineer, and three flight attendants. The number of flight 
attendants is based on the minimum requirements from 14 CFR 121.391, 
which state there must be at least one flight attendant per 50 
passenger seats.
    \146\ Airbus.com, ``New Airbus aircraft list prices for 2015,'' 
http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/new-airbus-aircraft-list-prices-for-2015/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To conduct the break-even analysis, TSA estimated the major direct 
costs for these attack scenarios, which can be viewed as the benefits 
of avoiding an attack. The break-even analysis does not include the 
macroeconomic impacts that could occur due to a major attack. In 
addition to the direct impacts of a terrorist attack in terms of lost 
life and property, there are other more indirect impacts, particularly 
on aviation based terrorist attacks that are difficult to measure. As 
noted by Cass Sunstein in the Laws of Fear, ``. . . fear is a real 
social cost, and it is likely to lead to other social costs. If, for 
example, people are afraid to fly, the economy will suffer in multiple 
ways . . . .'' \147\ Given the lack of information to quantify these 
more intangible, but real economic impacts of a terrorist attack, the 
full benefits of AIT screening are underestimated in this break-even 
analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \147\ Cass R. Sunstein, ``Laws of Fear,'' p. 127, 2005.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    TSA assumed all the passengers and crew are killed in each scenario 
and used the value of statistical life (VSL) of $9.1 million per 
fatality as adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) 
\148\ to monetize the consequences from fatalities. TSA emphasizes that 
the VSL is a statistical value used here only for regulatory comparison 
and does not suggest that the actual value of a life can be stated in 
dollar terms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \148\ U.S. Department of Transportation, ``Guidance on Treatment 
of Economic Value of a Statistical Life in U.S. Department of 
Transportation Analyses,'' http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/VSL%20Guidance%202013.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The replacement cost of the aircraft and emergency response costs 
149 150 are added to the loss of life to sum up the total 
cost of each attack scenario. TSA then calculates the ratio between the 
estimated cost of a successful attack and the annualized cost of AIT 
using a seven percent discount rate.\151\ By generating a ratio between 
these costs, TSA estimates how small the value of non-quantified 
benefits would need to be for the rule to yield zero positive benefits. 
Table 5 presents the number of attacks averted (expressed as a number 
of years between attacks) that would be required to break even for all 
five attack scenarios.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \149\ TSA uses a proxy estimate of $869,552 (inflated from 
$800,000 in 2009 dollars) from a lawsuit filed by The County of 
Erie, New York to recuperate emergency response costs from Colgan 
Air, Inc., in response to the Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash. These 
costs include overtime, removal of human remains, cleanup of the 
aircraft and chemical substances, counseling for the surviving 
family members, and acquiring special equipment.
    \150\ McGrory, Michael, ``Airlines Not Liable for Colgan Air 
Crash Clean-Up Costs; SmithAmunden Aerospace Report,'' March 20, 
2013, http://www.salawus.com/insights-alerts-70.html.
    \151\ TSA estimates the annualized net cost of AIT deployment to 
be $204.57 million using a seven percent discount rate.

[[Page 11402]]



                                                   Table 5--Frequency of Attacks Averted to Break-Even
                                                                     [In $millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Replacement
                                           and  emergency       Total        Load factor        Total       Attacks averted by AIT  to break-even: total
                Aircrafts                      response     passengers +         (%)         consequence                consequence/$204.57M
                                                costs           crew
                                                        a               b               c  d = a + (b x c  e = d / $204.57M
                                                                                                   x VSL)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Capacity:
    Airbus A380..........................          $428.9             557              86          $4,811  1 attack per 23.52 yrs.
    Boeing 777-200.......................           305.9             326              84           2,791  1 attack per 13.64 yrs.
Medium Capacity:
    Boeing 737-700/700LR.................            79.2             138              80           1,075  1 attack per 5.25 yrs.
    Boeing 737-800.......................            94.2             176              84           1,434  1 attack per 7.01 yrs.
    Airbus Industries A320-100/200.......            97.9             156              85           1,305  1 attack per 6.38 yrs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In Table 6 and Table 7, TSA presents annualized cost estimates and 
quantitative benefits of AIT deployment and operation. In Table 6, TSA 
shows the annualized net cost of AIT from 2015 to 2017. As previously 
explained, costs incurred from 2008-2014 occurred in the past. However, 
given that the life cycle of the AIT technology considered in this 
analysis is 10 years, TSA has also added Table 7 showing the annualized 
net cost of AIT from 2008-2017.

                               Table 6--OMB A-4 Accounting Statement for 2015-2017
                                                 [In $millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category                            Primary estimate        Minimum     Maximum  Source citation (final RIA,
                                                           estimate    estimate   preamble, etc.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    BENEFITS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized monetized benefits          (7%)         N/A  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
 (discount rate in parentheses).
                                ------------------------------------------------
                                       (3%)         N/A  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Unquantified benefits..........   The operations described in this rule produce  Final RIA
                                   benefits by reducing security risks through
                                   the deployment of AIT that can detect non-
                                        metallic weapons and explosives.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      COSTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized monetized costs             (7%)     $235.56  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
 (discount rate in parentheses).
                                ------------------------------------------------
                                       (3%)     $235.62  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Annualized quantified, but                  0                     0           0  Final RIA.
 unmonetized, costs.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Qualitative costs                                      N/A                       Final RIA.
 (unquantified).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    TRANSFERS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized monetized transfers:             0                     0           0  Final RIA.
 ``on budget''.
From whom to whom?.............            N/A                  N/A         N/A  None.
Annualized monetized transfers:             0                     0           0  Final RIA.
 ``off-budget''.
From whom to whom?.............            N/A                  N/A         N/A  None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous analyses/category                      Effects                       Source citation (final RIA,
                                                                                          preamble, etc.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effects on state, local, and/or                       None                       Final RIA.
 tribal governments.
Effects on small businesses....  No significant economic impact. Prepared FRFA.  FRFA.
Effects on wages...............                       None                       None.
Effects on growth..............                       None                       None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 11403]]


                               Table 7--OMB A-4 Accounting Statement for 2008-2017
                                                   [$millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category                            Primary estimate        Minimum     Maximum  Source citation (final RIA,
                                                           estimate    estimate   preamble, etc.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    BENEFITS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized monetized benefits          (7%)         N/A  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
 (discount rate in parentheses).
                                ------------------------------------------------
                                       (3%)         N/A  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Unquantified benefits..........   The operations described in this rule produce  Final RIA
                                   benefits by reducing security risks through
                                   the deployment of AIT that can detect non-
                                        metallic weapons and explosives.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      COSTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized monetized costs             (7%)     $204.57  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
 (discount rate in parentheses).
                                ------------------------------------------------
                                       (3%)     $210.47  ..........  ..........  Final RIA.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Annualized quantified, but                  0                     0           0  Final RIA.
 unmonetized, costs.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Qualitative costs                                      N/A                       Final RIA.
 (unquantified).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    TRANSFERS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized monetized transfers:             0                     0           0  Final RIA.
 ``on budget''.
From whom to whom?.............            N/A                  N/A         N/A  None.
Annualized monetized transfers:             0                     0           0  Final RIA.
 ``off-budget''.
From whom to whom?.............            N/A                  N/A         N/A  None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous analyses/category                      Effects                       Source citation (final RIA,
                                                                                          preamble, etc.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effects on state, local, and/or                       None                       Final RIA.
 tribal governments.
                                ------------------------------------------------
Effects on small businesses....  No significant economic impact. Prepared FRFA.  FRFA.
Effects on wages...............                       None                       None.
Effects on growth..............                       None                       None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As alternatives to the preferred regulatory proposal presented in 
the NPRM and final rule, TSA examined three other options. The 
following table briefly describes these options, which include use of 
WTMD only (no action), increased use of physical pat-down searches that 
supplements primary screening with WTMDs, and increased use of ETD 
screening that supplements primary screening with WTMDs. These 
alternatives, and the reasons why TSA rejected them in favor of the 
rule, are discussed in detail in Chapter 3 of the regulatory impact 
analysis located in this docket and summarized in Table 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \152\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-regarding-12252009-attempted-terrorist-attack.

                        Table 8--Advantages and Disadvantages of Regulatory Alternatives
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Regulatory
      alternative                Name               Description            Advantages           Disadvantages
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.....................  WTMDs Only...........  The passenger           No            Fails to
                                                screening              additional cost       meet the January 7,
                                                environment remains    burden.               2010 Presidential
                                                unchanged. TSA         No            Memorandum and
                                                continues to use       additional            statutory
                                                WTMDs as the primary   perceived privacy     requirement in 49
                                                passenger screening    concerns.             USC 44925.\152\
                                                technology and to                            Does not
                                                resolve alarms with                          mitigate the non-
                                                a pat-down.                                  metallic threat to
                                                                                             aviation security.
2.....................  Pat-Down.............  TSA continues to use    Thorough      Employs a
                                                WTMDs as the primary   physical inspection   substantial amount
                                                passenger screening    of metallic and non-  of human resources.
                                                technology. TSA        metallic items.       Increase in
                                                supplements the WTMD   Uses          number of
                                                screening by with a    currently deployed    passengers subject
                                                pat-down on a          WTMD technology.      to a pat-down.
                                                randomly selected      Minimal       Increased
                                                portion of             technology            wait times.
                                                passengers.            acquisition costs.

[[Page 11404]]

 
3.....................  ETD Screening........  TSA continues to use    Somewhat      Does not
                                                WTMDs as the primary   addresses the         detect non-
                                                passenger screening    threat of non-        explosive non-
                                                technology. TSA        metallic explosive    metallic potential
                                                supplements the WTMD   threats.              threats.
                                                screening by                                 Increased
                                                conducting ETD                               wait times and
                                                screening on a                               associated
                                                randomly selected                            passenger
                                                portion of                                   opportunity cost of
                                                passengers after                             time.
                                                screening by a WTMD.                         Increase in
                                                                                             ETD consumable
                                                                                             costs.
4.....................  AIT as Secondary       TSA continues to use    Somewhat      Primary
                         Screening.             WTMDs as the primary   addresses non-        screening does not
                                                screening              metallic explosive    detect non-metallic
                                                technology. TSA        threats.              weapons or
                                                supplements the WTMD                         explosives.
                                                screening by                                 Incremental
                                                conducting AIT                               cost of acquisition
                                                screening on a                               of AIT.
                                                randomly selected
                                                portion of
                                                passengers after
                                                screening by a WTMD.
5.....................  AIT..................  TSA uses AIT as a       Addresses     Incremental
                                                passenger screening    the threat of non-    cost of acquisition
                                                technology. Alarms     metallic explosives   to TSA.
                                                resolved through a     hidden on the body    Incremental
                                                pat-down.              by safely screening   personnel cost to
                                                                       passengers for        TSA.
                                                                       metallic and non-     Incremental
                                                                       metallic threats.     training cost to
                                                                       Maintains     TSA.
                                                                       lower personnel
                                                                       cost and higher
                                                                       throughput rates
                                                                       than the other
                                                                       alternatives.
                                                                       Adds
                                                                       deterrence value--
                                                                       the effect of would
                                                                       be attackers
                                                                       becoming
                                                                       discouraged as a
                                                                       result of AIT.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Regulatory Flexibility Act Assessment
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980 requires agencies to 
consider the impacts of their rules on small entities. Under the RFA, 
the term ``small entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit 
organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not 
dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with 
populations of less than 50,000. Individuals and States are not 
considered ``small entities'' based on the definitions in the RFA (5 
U.S.C. 601).
    This final rule codifies the use of AIT to screen passengers 
boarding commercial aircraft for weapons, explosives, and other 
prohibited items concealed on the body. The only additional direct cost 
small entities incur due to this rule is for utilities, because of 
increased power consumption from AIT operation. TSA identified 106 
small entities (105 small governmental jurisdictions and one small 
privately-owned airport) based on the Small Business Administration 
size standards that potentially incur additional utilities costs due to 
AIT. Of the 106 small entities, seven currently have AITs deployed and 
are not reimbursed by TSA for the payment of utilities. Consequently, 
AIT causes seven small entities, or 1.5 percent (7/460) of all 
airports, to incur additional direct costs during the period of 
analysis.
    These entities incur an incremental cost for utilities from an 
increased consumption of electricity from AIT operation. To estimate 
these costs, TSA uses the average kilowatts (kW) consumed per AIT unit 
on an annual basis. Depending on the size of the airport, TSA estimates 
the average additional utilities costs to range from $290 to $921 per 
year while the average annual revenue for these small entities ranges 
from $8.4 million to $213.3 million per year.\153\ TSA estimates that 
the cost impact of AIT to affected small entities is less than one 
percent of their annual revenue. Therefore, TSA's Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis suggests that this rule would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under section 605(b) of the RFA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \153\ TSA has changed the way that utilities costs were 
calculated from the NPRM in order to match the operating time of an 
AIT with its associated cost for additional utilities consumption. 
The change in the revenue range for small entities from the NPRM is 
due to the population of airports which has been adjusted to include 
all airports that are regulated under 49 CFR part 1542 since 
publication of the NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. International Trade Impact Assessment
    The Trade Agreement Act of 1979 prohibits Federal agencies from 
establishing any standards or engaging in related activities that 
create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United 
States. Legitimate domestic objectives, such as safety, are not 
considered unnecessary obstacles. The statute also requires 
consideration of international standards and, where appropriate, that 
they be the basis for U.S. standards. TSA has assessed the potential 
effect of this rulemaking and has determined that it will have only a 
domestic impact and therefore no effect on any trade-sensitive 
activity.
5. Unfunded Mandates Assessment
    The UMRA is intended, among other things, to curb the practice of 
imposing unfunded Federal mandates on State, local, and tribal 
governments. Title II of the UMRA requires each Federal agency to 
prepare a written statement assessing the effects of any Federal 
mandate in a proposed or final agency rule that may result in a $100 
million or more expenditure (adjusted annually for inflation) in any 
one year by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or 
by the private sector; such a mandate is deemed to be a ``significant 
regulatory action.''
    This rulemaking does not contain such a mandate. The requirements 
of Title II of the UMRA, therefore, do not apply and TSA has not 
prepared a statement.

[[Page 11405]]

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501. et seq.) 
requires that TSA consider the impact of paperwork and other 
information collection burdens imposed on the public and, under the 
provisions of PRA sec. 3507(d), obtain approval from the OMB for each 
collection of information it conducts, sponsors, or requires through 
regulations. The PRA defines a ``collection of information'' to be 
``the obtaining, causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the 
disclosure to third parties or the public, of facts or opinion by or 
for an agency, regardless of form or format . . . imposed on ten or 
more persons.'' 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A). TSA did not receive any comments 
regarding the PRA. TSA has determined that there are no current or new 
information collection requirements associated with this rule. TSA's 
use of AIT to screen passengers does not constitute activity that would 
result in the collection of information as defined in the PRA.
    As protection provided by the PRA, as amended, an agency may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

D. Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    TSA has analyzed this rulemaking under the principles and criteria 
of E.O. 13132, Federalism. TSA determined that this action will not 
have a substantial direct effect on the States, or the relationship 
between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, 
and, therefore, does not have federalism implications.

E. Environmental Analysis

    TSA has reviewed this rulemaking for purposes of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and has 
determined that this action will not have a significant effect on the 
human environment. This action is covered by categorical exclusion 
(CATEX) number A3(b) and (d) in DHS Management Directive 023-01 
(formerly Management Directive 5100.1), Environmental Planning Program, 
which guides TSA compliance with NEPA.

F. Energy Impact Analysis

    The energy impact of this rulemaking has been assessed in 
accordance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), Public 
Law 94-163, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6362). TSA has determined that this 
rulemaking is not a major regulatory action under the provisions of the 
EPCA.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 1540

    Air carriers, Aircraft, Airports, Civil Aviation Security, Law 
enforcement officers, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Screening, Security measures.

The Amendment

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Transportation 
Security Administration amends Chapter XII of Title 49, Code of Federal 
Regulations, as follows:

PART 1540--CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY: GENERAL RULES

0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 1540 to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 114, 5103, 40113, 44901-44907, 44913-
44914, 44916-44918, 44925, 44935-44936, 44942, 46105.

0
2. In Sec.  1540.107, add paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  1540.107  Submission to screening and inspection.

* * * * *
    (d) The screening and inspection described in paragraph (a) of this 
section may include the use of advanced imaging technology. Advanced 
imaging technology used for the screening of passengers under this 
section must be equipped with and employ automatic target recognition 
software and any other requirement TSA deems necessary to address 
privacy considerations.
    (1) For purposes of this section, advanced imaging technology-
    (i) Means a device used in the screening of passengers that creates 
a visual image of an individual showing the surface of the skin and 
revealing other objects on the body; and
    (ii) May include devices using backscatter x-rays or millimeter 
waves and devices referred to as whole body imaging technology or body 
scanning machines.
    (2) For purposes of this section, automatic target recognition 
software means software installed on an advanced imaging technology 
device that produces a generic image of the individual being screened 
that is the same as the images produced for all other screened 
individuals.

    Dated: February 23, 2016.
Peter V. Neffenger,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-04374 Filed 3-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-52-P