U.S. airport bomb screening needs update, GAO says

The Transportation Security Administration spent $8 billion since the Sept. 11 attacks installing machines at airports to screen checked bags for explosives, but many of the systems are obsolete and need to be upgraded, according to congressional investigators.

In a report set for release Wednesday at a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that explosives-screening equipment at many of the 462 U.S. airports use detection criteria more than a decade old, and machines being installed now will require upgrading before they can meet the latest standards.