LANL screener detects dangerous liquids

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (KRQE) - Congressman Ben Ray Lujan said one of the best ways to keep planes from blowing up in the sky can be found at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and President Barack Obama is listening.

A machine called the MagViz may just look like a big hunk of metal, but soon it may ensure the safety of travelers across the nation.

The project to build it started in 2006, after a terrorist plot to blow up transatlantic flights using liquid explosives was uncovered.

Those volatile liquids can now be detected by the MagViz.

"This one is fuel nitrous methane. So it's interesting because in the bottle it looks just like water," MagViz Team Leader Michelle Espy said. "It could be anything like an oxidizer or fuel that's used for a liquid bomb."

Hazardous liquids are flagged as the pass through the system. The machine was showcased last year at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

"At this point the operator would be able to say there is something wrong with one of the milk cartons," Espy said.

A strongly worded letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security from Congressman Ben Ray Lujan called to fast track the use of the MagViz at airports.

Friday, President Obama agreed with Lujan.

However, the MagViz is not ready yet.

"It's taking about 45 seconds right now, which is obviously a little bit slow for airport screening," Espy said.

LANL said it could take at least a year to increase the speed of the machine and to mass produce it.

While the MagViz is capable of pinpointing dangerous liquids, it cannot detect dangerous powders yet.

If the MagViz is ever mass produced and used at security checkpoints, scientists on the project said a liquid ban would no longer be needed on flights.