Access Control
& Security Systems

The congressionally imposed deadline for airports to screen all checked baggage for bombs will probably not be met, Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said in a conference Tuesday.

The new law, enacted when President Bush signed the aviation security bill, orders the screening of all bags starting in early January.

But Mineta said Tuesday there are not enough employees, bomb-sniffing dogs or explosive-detecting machines to do that job. "We're not going to be able to meet that by January," he said.

The law also requires that all checked bags go through explosives- detection machines by the end of 2002. Airports do not have enough machines to search all bags, Mineta said. He said he is consulting with companies that build the devices to see if they could speed up production. L-3 Communications, New York, and InVision Technologies Inc., Newark, Calif., are the current major suppliers of explosives detection equipment.

He also said he is talking to companies that use similar technology, such as manufacturers of CT scans, to see whether they can build equipment to screen luggage for bombs.

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