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By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Managers of McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Tuesday unveiled two additions in a series of upgrades that will help the airport reach its maximum capacity of about 53 million arriving and departing passengers annually.
The changes included a new wing to the D Concourse and 12 new security lanes that will make it easier for passengers to get from ticketing to the C Gates, the departure point for most Southwest Airlines customers.
The security lanes also included one of the "whole body imaging" devices now employed by the Transportation Security Administration. The device allows workers to look through a subject's clothing in an effort to screen for weapons as an alternative to more time-consuming physical searches.
"It basically will pick up anything that is blocking the skin of the person," TSA supervisory officer Joe Bause said. "Anything that has a density will stop the ... waves. It is almost like a sonar."
TSA installed the screening device at a cost of about $180,000, said Dwayne Baird, public affairs manager for the TSA.
The system is divided into two major parts. One is a large, clear booth where a passenger stands for screening; the other is a small, windowless room about 50 feet away where a TSA worker views the image. A worker in the viewing room cannot see the passenger in the booth nor can anyone outside...