Stimulus funds from the federal government are being used to purchase and install full-body scanners at 11 airports. Most of these airports are located in the Midwest or California, leaving much of the Northeast without the new technology. Scanners will be installed at the following Midwest airports: Chicago O’Hare, Port Columbus International in Ohio, Kansas City International in Missouri, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International. For the south, Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International in Florida will receive scanners. California’s LAX, San Diego, Oakland, and Mineta International are all slated to receive the scanners as well.

These full body scanners, paid for with $25 million in stimulus money, come at a cost of $150,000-$180,000 each. The stimulus money is set aside to purchase 150 full body scanners.

These beefed up security measures are part of the TSAs attempt to prevent further attacks and attempted attacks, such as the Christmas day underwear bomber. The TSA suffered much criticism after the failed bombing on Christmas day and this is undoubtedly an attempt to clean up a bit of a tarnished image. At a cost of $25 million it should be worth it to keep an eye on these scanners effectiveness.