My hands were scanned by a strange device during a security check at the airport. What was the purpose?

Question

I had a plane last week from Warsaw Modlin to Barcelona and I had one untypical procedure. It's my 14th flight and I never had something similar before. At the security scan right away after I crossed through metal detector the security guy came to me and scanned both my hands from both sides by some strange scanner. My hand were clear and I haven't anything on them, so I didn't get what he was searching for... Did he search for powder/radiation or something other? He didn't scan everyone there, but just a couple of persons.

So what he was searching for with that scanner?

Answer 1

It's just a swab which tests for traces of explosives.

They are completely commonplace.

You see them in airports everywhere.

(If OP has never been "swabbed" before: that's just a strange coincidence. They're as commonplace as scanners.)

Some are simply a plastic stick, with a throw-away swab on the end. The throw-away swab simply looks like a piece of tape.

Other devices are fixed, and can be used more than once.

US TSA explanation. CNN article.

Typical manufacturer.

Another manufacturer.

(All these systems are just profit centers, set up by companies with government lobbying power, to make sales.) (I'm not saying there isn't coincidental societal advantage, but that's the reason the systems exist: lobbying from military-industrial industries.)

In answer to one of your questions, these things search for molecules:

There is utterly no connection, in any way, to "radiation".

Again, they literally just "smell" for explosives - things like "dynamite", "TNT", "gunpowder" and so on.

(No connection whatsoever to "radiation" - with "radiation" you're thinking of like "nuclear weapons". Totally unrelated.)

Answer 2

They were checking you hands for traces of residue from explosives, and it is common practice, especially in Europa, from my experience.

I have been swabbed many times, but I found that it happens more often in Europa than in the United States, at least in my experience. When I'm swabbed in the United States, they usually swab the outside of my luggage, my laptop, other electronic devices, certain personal items, my hands, and in some rare cases they also swab my shoes. In Europa, my shoes are swabbed more often, and they usually also swab my clothing and waist area. There have been cases where they swabbed my stomach and lower back at European airports. This is all just from my own experience.

Answer 3

The scan is looking for traces of explosives, gun powder and other incendiary chemicals.

Answer 4

The way these systems work is that they take a sample of particles that are in contact with your skin. The device is then inserted into a scanner, which is programmed to scan for chemical signatures for certain substances.

These substances can be either explosive material (like gunpowder, tnt, etc.) or drugs.

These same devices are also used on luggage for the same reason.

For those devices that have a tape or cloth attachment, this attachment is actually superheated in the device.

This device is a portable version of the "puffer machine" installed at some major airports where you stand in a chamber and some air is circulated. This air picks up any molecules on your person, and is then analyzed for trace residue.