WASHINGTON, June 5, 2006 - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced the deployment of five Reveal explosives detection systems (EDS) for screening checked baggage at Kansas City International Airport (MCI). The Reveal CT-80 machines are smaller in size and are less than half the price of other EDS machines currently in use at commercial airports nationwide.

“This is an example of our continuing effort to develop and deploy the latest technology,” said Richard Curasi, TSA’s Federal Security Director at Kansas City. “The technology, designed to address requirements at smaller and medium-size airports, is also directly applicable here, given our customer-service oriented configuration,” Curasi said. “This new technology is the latest tool we can use to secure our passengers.”

In 2005, TSA deployed eight Reveal machines for operational field testing and evaluation at three airports: Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (Miss.), Newark Liberty International Airport (N.J.) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (N.Y.). The field tests lasted from 30 to 45 days at each airport and provided TSA with the opportunity to evaluate the machine’s effectiveness in an airport environment as well as its impact on security and customer service.

Following the success of the pilot program, TSA purchased 72 Reveal machines at a cost of $24.8 million with the goal of deploying the equipment to small- and medium-sized airports during the first half of 2006. In addition to MCI and the original pilot airports, 18 other airports have or are scheduled to receive Reveal equipment this year. Those airports include Albany, N.Y., Billings, Mont., Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., Atlantic City, N.J., Memphis, Tenn., and Bangor, Maine.

Reveal EDS machines were certified in December 2004 by TSA’s Transportation Security Laboratory in Atlantic City, N.J. Reveal is the third company to have its explosives detection equipment certified by TSA for screening checked baggage at the nation’s airports.

For more information about TSA, please visit our Web site at http://www.tsa.gov.