Detection of explosives residue shuts down airport

Aug 22, 2006 2:11 PM

           

A West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated last week after two bottles of liquid found in a woman's carry-on luggage twice tested positive for explosives residue, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said.
While chemical tests later turned up no explosives in the bottles, the airport was shut down for nearly 10 hours.
"There were four items containing liquids," TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter told The Associated Press. A machine that security checkpoint screeners use to test for explosives registered positive results for two containers, and a canine team also got a positive hit, she added.
The TSA screening looks for a range of explosives residue, some of which can be found on common household items, said TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser.
Airport manager Larry Salyers said the woman was a 28-year-old of Pakistani descent who had moved to West Virginia from Jackson, Mich. No charges were filed against the woman, who was cooperative with authorities.
A screener noticed a bottle in a woman's carry-on bag as she was going through security before her 9:15 a.m. flight to Charlotte, N.C., said Tri-State Airport Authority President Jim Booton. One bottle contained a gel-type facial cleanser, FBI spokesman Jeff Killeen said.
Commercial airline service was suspended, and about 100 passengers and airport employees were ordered to leave the terminal, Booton said.
U.S. authorities banned the carrying of liquids onto flights last week after British officials made arrests in an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes using explosives disguised as drinks and other common products. (For Breaking News and continuing coverage of the London plot, visit govtsecurity.com/news/AirlinePlot or www.securitysolutions.com/news/TSARulesSpeedSecurity

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