TSA at Washington Dulles (IAD) Sees Security Threat in Insulin Pumps

Posted by Marshall Jackson on July 3, 2009 under Safety and Security | 11 Comments to Read

Some readers may be aware that I have Type 1 Diabetes.  If you’ve read the “about” section of the blog, you also know that I was a pilot until my diagnosis.  Fewer of you know that my day job affords me a certain level of security clearance.  Nevertheless, I transit the same TSA security regimen that everyone else does, and that’s probably the way it should be.  That said, I think what happened to me on Friday, July 2, 2009, at the Washington Dulles TSA checkpoint warrants mention.

I wear an insulin pump to treat my diabetes. For the uninitiated, the pump is about the size of a pager. It contains enough tiny electronics to control my insulin dose and a cartridge of insulin that I fill myself from vials of prescription insulin.  I don’t know a helluva lot about explosives, but I have a hard time envisioning an insulin pump as being something that could be turned into a threat.

On to the screening experience.  I transited the walk through metal detector at Dulles in fine shape and did not set off any alarms.  Nevertheless, I was directed into the “fishbowl” for a patdown by the TSA agent.  I distinctly heard her tell her fellow agent that I was being sent there because I was wearing an insulin pump.   The pump was clipped to the waist of my pants since I had removed my belt.  I was greeted quickly enough by another agent who went through the usual spiel of confirming which items on the x-ray belt were mine.   He directed me to the area by the Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) equipment and then proceeded to pat me down.

On a handful of occasions, TSA has swabbed my pump and tested it with the ETD machine, and the agent did just that.  I assumed I’d be on my way once that was cleared, but I was mistaken.  The agent then proceeded to test my carry-on and laptop bags both inside and out, my laptop, camera, Bose headphones, and all sub-compartments of each bag.   To say that this was more screening than I’ve ever received would be an understatement.  I really don’t know how long it took, but it was certainly long enough that I began to wonder what the heck the guy was trying to prove?!

Frankly, I’m perplexed as to why this was necessary.  I’ve transited many a TSA checkpoint in my 12 years of wearing an insulin pump and I have never experienced anything like it.  I’ll be traveling from Reagan National next week and am anxious to see if the screening experience is similar.  Seriously, this was enough to make me avoid traveling from Dulles if this is an airport-specific policy.  Any other traveling pumpers out there have similar stories to share, or is this a Dulles-only pheonomena?  I’d be curious to hear from you, so please leave a comment on the blog.

ETA:  I did not receive the same odd-ball treatment when I returned home the following Sunday.  My pump was clearly visible to the security officer.  I dunno what the deal is.

You can review my post about TSA’s response here.

Bookmark and Share

  1. bex said,

    Sounds like you got mission creep’d: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204556804574261940842372518.html

  2. Victoria said,

    Hi there,

    I unfortunately went through the same exact thing at CWA, a small regional airport in Wisconsin. They didn’t really have much of a separate screening area, so my stuff was searched at the end of the conveyor belt. The interesting thing is that when I flew that same weekend and my pump was hidden under a longer shirt, I wasn’t subjected to this extra security–they can only do the extra search if you make the pump visible. So, I’m going to do my best to hide my pump from now on when I fly, because it was a very annoying experience. What’s irksome is that TSA hasn’t updated this on their site, so I was kind of blindsided by the whole procedure.

  3. Marshall Jackson said,

    Read your blog post about your trip. Sounds similar. Oddly enough, on the return from Dayton, I did not get the extra treatment I got at IAD. I’m departing DCA Monday morning, and am anxious to see if this happens again.

  4. Insulin Pumps - TSA Responds » Marshall Jackson on Travel said,

    [...] of you read my recent post about the downright unnecessary experience I endured at Washington Dulles International last [...]

  5. Pnutsmom said,

    This is what creates the randomness of the screening process. If they did the same thing every time you went through to everyone wearing an insulin pump then the bad people would catch on and know the ways to beat the system. There are bad people out there observing security every day whether we Americans want to believe it or not. I am more than happy to comply with the security measures if that’s what it takes to prevent another 911. It only takes a few minutes of my time and besides I have nothing to hide.

  6. Marshall Jackson said,

    And neither do I. Nor am I unempathetic to the value of some level of “randomness” in the screening process. I happened to be the passenger service manager on duty at Washington National Airport for a certain AAirline on the morning of 9/11/01. I’m all about security. That said, if an insulin pump is the kind of device that can be converted into some sort of IED, it would seem that a swab of my hands and the pump itself for trace explosives detection might suffice as proof that I’m not a closet bomb-maker. What I got was a complete screening of every surface of my belongings (and me), which was a waste of security resources that could have been better utilized looking for one of those bad people that I agree are out there observing procedures.

    Thanks for reading, and offering your perspective.

  7. Mrs.Brasefield said,

    9/6/09 My husband and I were flying home from Phoenix yesterday, and after I went through the same screening as everyone else in line (walked through metal detector and sent carryons through xray screening), the agent noticed the insulin pump attached to my waistband.
    I was asked to wait in a separate area until 3 other female agents were availabe to do a manual “pat down”, the pump was “wanded” and then my carry-on and purse were emptied and searched. At each point, I asked “why” since no alarms had been set off. I was told that the additional screening was solely because I was wearing an insulin pump, that this was a new TSA policy for all insulin pump wearers and I was encouraged to fill out a comment card if I objected. We fly several times each year and have never encountered what felt like bizarre profiling.

  8. Marshall Jackson said,

    Wow. This sounds much like my first experience with additional screening at Dulles. I’ve since been sent for additional screening due to my pump only twice out of many trips through the checkpoint. The later experiences were much easier to tolerate in that my bags didn’t get dumped. I did not set off the alarm in either case, but was sent for additional screening anyway. I think the divergent experiences may indeed be a case of “randomness” to make the process less predictable. Nonetheless, an ETD wand of the pump and my hands should be plenty of screening. I, nor anyone else, should be subject to the kind of search I received at Dulles solely because we wear an insulin pump.

  9. Jim Lund said,

    I got this treatment today in St. Louis. Happened at Dulles in March. I can find nothing on the TSA website to indicate that this is standard, but the St. Louis TSA people insisted it is the Standard Operating Procedure.

    There is, for some bizarre reason, a belief that insulin pumps are a security threat…but only selective TSA groups seem to have received the memo,

    It is an egregious imposition on us that needs to be exposed and fought.

  10. Customer Service - Someone Does Know What it Means » Marshall Jackson on Travel said,

    [...] hyper-sensitive, or I’m carrying new metal I’m not aware of.  You’ve read my previous post about TSA’s newfound fondness for cavity searches if you happen to wear an insulin pump.  [...]

  11. No problerms said,

    I have traveled both nationally and internationally wearing an insulin pump with zero issues. The day before I leave I print out FAA guidelines as a supporting document “if needed.”

    I arrive a little earlier than necessary when possible to alert security I use a pump, carry documents from my endocrinoligists, etc. I also carry Gluco Burst for lows because it is a very small amount of liquid that will take care of lows asap.

    I must travel for business reasons so considering applying for a “pre-screened” pass if needed. Why? because some TSA screening personnel are dumber than a box or rocks and cannot read and understand what is posted on their site.

    You can’t fix stupid!

    So everyone, be a lot smarter than the stupid ones which shouldn’t be hard!

    12. Add A Comment

home top