Copyright 2002 The Chronicle Publishing Co.  

The San Francisco Chronicle
AUGUST 23, 2002, FRIDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A9

LENGTH: 1254 words

HEADLINE: Airport security chief eases rules a bit;

Possible extension of screening deadline

SOURCE: Chronicle Staff Writer

BYLINE: Alan Gathright

BODY:
In a bid to be more flier-friendly, federal officials will allow passengers to carry drinks in paper and Styrofoam cups through metal detectors -- and they're considering dropping robotic ticket-agent quizzes about whether anyone has given you something to carry onboard.

But as far as San Francisco International Airport officials were concerned, the most welcome news Thursday came when new Transportation Security Administration head James Loy said he supported giving some airports flexibility on a Dec. 31 deadline to screen all passenger luggage.

"Each airport needs unique solutions to their (security) challenges," Loy said at an SFO press conference.

SFO Director John Martin was one of of 133 U.S. airport leaders who have written the Senate, urging it do what the House has already done: give airports another year to properly install automatic baggage-screening machines and to avoid crowding a mix of minivan-size machines and small explosive-trace detectors into cramped terminals -- which could spawn long passenger lines during the critical holiday travel season.

"We appreciate and very much support (Loy's) recognition of the need possibly for a deadline waiver at some airports where the TSA says they need more time to do the engineering (for baggage-screening equipment)," Martin said.

The change in the beverage policy comes after public outrage over bizarrely strict TSA tactics, like when screeners at New York's Kennedy Airport forced a woman to drink the bottled breast milk she was carrying for her baby to prove that it wasn't lethal.

"In an effort to make the security process more efficient and convenient for passengers, we have directed our screeners to allow passengers to carry their coffee, juice or other beverage, if it is in a paper or foam polystyrene container, through the walk-through metal detector," Loy said.

While metal detectors can screen beverages in foam or paper cups, containers made of plastic, glass, metal or ceramic containers must still pass through X-ray machines. And they must be sealed or spill-proof to avoid a leak that damage the equipment.

"With this policy, we are making it crystal clear that the public should not be asked, nor agree to, drink any liquid or eat any food for security clearance purposes," Loy said.

This could be the first of several moves by Loy to ensure that security is both effective and sensible. His predecessor, John Magaw, a former Secret Service chief, was forced out last month after lawmakers and aviation industry leaders complained the agency was too heavy-handed and secretive with information.

Loy said he would also review a 16-year-old policy requiring ticket agents and sky caps to ask passengers a pair of security questions: "Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry an item on this flight?" and "Have any of the items you are traveling with been out of your immediate control since the time you packed them?"

TSA officials say there's no evidence the inquiries help security.

With regard to the baggage-screening deadline, SFO Federal Security Director Ed Gomez cautioned that his boss wanted only airports with special design problems to have more flexibility.

"What he doesn't want is (for Congress) to say now every (airport) has carte blanche," Gomez said.

---------------------------------------------------Screener job fairsPeople interested in becoming federal airport security screeners at Mineta/San Jose International or Oakland International airports can attend job fairs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the Hyatt San Jose, 1740 N. First Street, or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Holiday Inn Oakland Airport, 500 Hegenberger Road.

Applicants are required to be U.S. citizens with a high school diploma or equivalent degree, or one year of security or aviation screening experience. Security screener pay ranges from $23,600 to $35,400 depending upon experience, plus a 19.04 percent cost-of-living bonus for the Bay Area.

People can also apply online at www.tsa.dot.gov or call toll free (877) 631-JOBS (5627).

--------------------------------------------------------Other developments

-- Awards approved: The first compensation awards have been approved for 25 families of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, providing each an average of $1.3 million, the administrator of the government fund established by Congress announced Thursday.

Nine of the 25 recipients have accepted their awards, but four others who weren't satisfied with the amounts have requested hearings to argue for more, said Kenneth Feinberg, special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. He said the fund hasn't heard from the other 12, but that he expects most will accept their awards without a hearing.

According to a chart released by Feinberg, individual awards range from $300,000 to $3 million. The most generous awards, ranging from $2.1 million to $3 million, go to families of victims who had annual incomes of $200,000 or more at the time of the attacks. Feinberg said most of the individual awards are for $1 million to $1.5 million.

The Victim Compensation Fund was established by Congress in legislation enacted last September to aid the U.S. airline industry, which suffered a severe downturn as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time, officials feared a tidal wave of civil lawsuits stemming from the attacks.

-- Palestinian deported: A Palestinian suspected of having ties to terrorists was deported Thursday to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, ending his seven-year legal battle to stay in the United States.

The deportation of Mazen Al-Najjar came a day after the University of South Florida, where he once taught, sued seeking to fire his brother-in-law, a professor also suspected of terrorist ties.

Attorney Joe Hohenstein would not reveal Al-Najjar's destination until his client was safely on the ground.

Al-Najjar, who has a doctorate in engineering and once taught Arabic language classes at the university, spent more than 3 1/2 years in jail on secret evidence linking him to terrorists. He was released in 2000 but arrested again in November and held until his deportation.

Al-Najjar, 45, is the brother-in-law of Sami Al-Arian, a computer science professor. The University of South Florida filed a lawsuit Wednesday that includes a termination letter to be sent to Al-Arian if the courts rule that firing him would not violate his constitutional rights.

-- Mail facility cleaning: A test was successful in cleaning up anthrax at Washington, D.C.'s main mail sorting plant, closed since the fall because of contamination from letters sent to two senators, the Postal Service said Thursday.

The 17 million cubic-foot Brentwood facility has been sealed since the discovery of the tainted mail. Two postal workers died from contact with anthrax and thousands were treated to prevent infection.

Officials have worked on a plan to decontaminate the facility with chlorine dioxide gas, which was used to clean portions of the Hart Senate Office Building. The postal facility is much larger and the entire building needs to be decontaminated.

Postal officials said preparations are under way to fumigate the entire building, but no date has been set. They said a community meeting is planned first, to answer questions from nearby residents.

-- Chronicle news servicesE-mail Alan Gathright at agathright@sfchronicle.com.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO, James Loy

LOAD-DATE: August 23, 2002