Viral: Reddit post reveals how sweat stains trigger TSA body scanners
Catching a flight soon? Maybe ensure to cool down a bit before approaching the security check as a viral post on Reddit has just revealed how sweat stains trigger the TSA body scanner.
In a recent Reddit
post
, user u/ominous_pan shared that they couldn't figure out why they set off the millimetre wave scanner at a TSA checkpoint- the machine that creates 3D images of travellers' bodies using radio waves. They added that they had empty pockets and no piercings.
"I flew for the first time in 15 years this week and both airports flagged my crotch at the arms up scanner," the user wrote.
Why did this happen?
Image credits: X
Well, people in the comments suggested that a potential reason for the incident could be having sweat stains on their clothing.
Many added that the same had happened with them.
People pointed out that moistness, wetness, sweat or compression shorts, pads, diapers and liner can get a person flagged.
Can sweat really trigger
TSA body scanners
?
According to Shawna Malvini Redden, an organisational researcher and author of the book "101 Pat-Downs: An Undercover Look at
Airport Security
and the TSA", sweat can cause a false alarm at airport security.
"The machine will send up an alarm if there's anything out of the ordinary," she told USA TODAY.
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"Conceivably, the machines could bounce off the sweat and cause a false alarm."
How does sweat trigger the scanners?
Image credits: Getty Images
The machines at the airport security make use of millimetre wave advanced imaging technology, which scans the bodies of the passengers with non-ionising radiation. The waves reflect off the body to detect weapons hidden underneath the body but also catch water or sweat, as per ProPublica. Thicker or layered clothing can also set off the alarm in this case.
'Added moisture from a person's body can alter the density of clothing, so it is possible perspiration may cause our advanced imaging technology machines to alarm," confirmed a TSA spokesperson in a statement.
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