On Saturday, November 17, 2001, at 05:41 PM, David Honig wrote:
At 10:57 AM 11/17/01 -0800, Sandy Sandfort wrote:
Airport chemical "sniffers" apparently look for the signature of nitrogen compounds, not "explosives," per se. I've often wondered how many weekend gardeners have gotten hassled and delayed because of trace amounts of ammonia-based fertilizers on their person and effects. If you plan to fly, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before heading out for the airport if you have been shoot, gardening or house cleaning.
I've wondered about that too; airport sniffers must have encountered Miracle Gro and angina nitro during the early days, measuring a false alarm rate. Shooting is scary; you could contaminate your car driving back from the range, then contaminate your travel gear.
I've had a backpack used to transport pistols and ammunition get wiped down at the airport. It can out clean. Doesn't mean anything tho'. -- "Remember, half-measures can be very effective if all you deal with are half-wits."--Chris Klein