[CholeraJoe]

Glycerin in hand creams and the like triggers the explosive detectors at TSA airport screening points. In 2002, I stood helplessly by while a female traveling companion was led away for a strip/cavity search because hand cream residue on her purse tested as explosives on the screening.

Really ruined a romantic week in Paris.

[Red Badger]

I hope you had your nitro pills.....

[Gorzaloon]

Glycerin in hand creams and the like triggers the explosive detectors at TSA airport screening points. In 2002, I stood helplessly by while a female traveling companion was led away for a strip/cavity search because hand cream residue on her purse tested as explosives on the screening.

I do not think it was the glycerine. More likely it was from EDTA, isopropanolamine, and other nitrogen containing common antioxidants, dispersants, and emulsifiers.

Most detection schemes focus on nitrogen compounds that explosives exude.

Human skin oils are mostly trigylcerides. On cosmetics and the like, the manufacturers can put nearly anything into them, and if you check the ingredients labels you will see what I mean.

For example, I just went and grabbed a tube of "Fruit of the Earth" cocoa butter with Aloe lotion. Among a host of other things, it contains triethanolamine, a quartenary ammonium compound, diazolidinyl urea, and a few things I have never heard of. Any of these, in combination with the citric acid in the formula, soap residues, sunlight, whatever, could release nitrogen compunds that would trigger the bomb detector.