By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
ST. LOUIS – St. Louis' Lambert Airport will begin using full-body imaging machines at one of its security checkpoints Friday.
The Transportation Security Administration began rolling out the machines last year, and they're now in nearly 60 airports.
The first machines in Lambert will be located in Terminal 2, and others are expected to follow.
TSA spokesman Jim Fotenos said that passengers in any US airport can opt out of the scan.
"If an individual feels uncomfortable with any aspect of this technology, they should inform the transportation security officer, receive alternative screening, which includes walking through the metal detector and receiving a pat down," Fotenos said.
TSA officials say the machines are able to detect metal and non-metal objects. They say the x-ray lasts about four seconds and gives off very low levels of radiation.
Fotenos also said that a screener in a separate room watches the scans and cannot see the passengers themselves.
"The image is blurred, it makes an individual unidentifiable, but it still allows our officers to see anomalies, so it's another privacy step TSA has put in place."
The images cannot be saved or printed, Fontenos said, and the computers are not on a network.
>>For more photos of the scanning process, see our Facebook album