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Bomb-Detection Units Coming To New York City's Penn Station

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Suicide vest.

Suicide vest-detection technology is coming to New York City's Penn Station. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer says Monday that the federal Transportation Security Administration will start testing the screening equipment on Tuesday.

Schumer pushed for the technology to be tested in New York City after a Bangladeshi immigrant injured himself setting off a crude pipe bomb strapped to his chest in December.

The TSA has been working on the devices known as stand-off explosive detection units since 2004 with transit agencies like Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.

The technology has also been used to secure large-scale events like the Super Bowl and has been tested in a Los Angeles Metro station.

The machines, mounted on tripods, screen people at a distance without slowing them down. Several versions are being evaluated.

© 2018 Associated Press

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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