U.S.-bound cargo ships to get nuclear once-over Under Homeland Security program, overseas ports to look for nuke hazards A Customs and Border Protection officer inspects a truck at a port for radioactive material. Cargo containers bound for the United States from six foreign seaports will be screened for dangerous nuclear materials. View related photos James Tourtellotte
Most Popular Most Viewed Top Rated Most E-mailed
Officials: Father died of hypothermia Taco Bell outbreak traced to Calif. scallions Have St. Pauls remains been unearthed? Houston suburb in dispute over mosque plan Low clouds force delay of shuttle launch Most viewed on MSNBC.com Survivors gather to honor Pearl Harbor victims On display, the fruits of Afghan altruism Brazil creates new protected areas in Amazon Two species cooperate to hunt N.J. woman collects Silly String for serious use Most viewed on MSNBC.com Houston suburb in dispute over mosque plan Officials: Father died of hypothermia Have St. Pauls remains been unearthed? Taco Bell outbreak traced to Calif. scallions Electronic elves can unwrap online bargains Most viewed on MSNBC.com By Pete Williams Justice correspondent NBC News Updated: 2 hours, 48 minutes ago
Beginning early next year, cargo containers bound for the United States from six foreign seaports will be screened for dangerous nuclear materials, the first phase in a program intended to expand the scrutiny of shipments before they reach American ports.
"No weapon of mass destruction is more formidable than a nuclear device or a radiological dirty bomb. It's critical to see that they don't make it into the U.S.," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in revealing details of the program Thursday.
Cargo containers destined for American ports will be driven on flatbed trucks past sensitive radiation monitors to detect possible nuclear hazards. And powerful X-ray machines will search for potential shielding intended to conceal radiological hazards.
Story continues below ↓ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- advertisement
When the detectors find potential nuclear materials, video images of the scans will be transmitted instantly to Homeland Security's National Targeting Center just outside Washington, D.C., for further analysis. If a physical search of the suspect container does not resolve the concern, it will be barred from U.S.-bound ships.
"When in doubt, we pull it out. Then we'll open it up and look," Chertoff said.
The devices will screen all U.S.-bound cargo at three of the six ports Southampton, England; Puerto Cortes, Honduras; and Port Qasim in Pakistan.
At the other three the port of Singapore; Port Salalah, Oman; and Port Busan in South Korea only some U.S.-bound cargo will be screened for radiological material, "due to limitations imposed by the size and complexity of those ports," Homeland Security officials said.
Taken together, the deployments at the six ports will subject about 7 percent of U.S.-bound cargo to nuclear screening, they said.
"We are eager to expand this program as rapidly as possible," said Homeland Security's deputy secretary, Michael Jackson. "This is just one piece and one layer of a much larger system."
Sticking points: Money and permission Homeland officials say two factors constrain expanding the screening program more rapidly money and permission from the countries where the ports are located. The six-port pilot program will cost $60 million.
As for the diplomatic aspect, a State Department official said discussions are under way with "a number" of foreign nations to get permission to install more detectors.
Cargo is also scanned for radioactive material when it arrives. Figures from the department's Customs and Border Protection agency, which administers the program, said the screening rate is 81 percent at U.S. seaports and 94 percent at land borders, with a goal of raising both figures to 100 percent by the end of 2007.
Thursday's announcement was attended by representatives of foreign ports and shipping companies who support the enhanced security inspections.
Asked why foreign shippers would agree to adding another step in the shipping process, a U.S. official said, "They know what the consequences would be if something dangerous slips through and creates a tragedy here. Worldwide commerce would come to a halt and would be very hard to restart."
-------------------- Bill Gates, Donald Trump and James Dean, Willie Nelson, John Lennon and Neil McCoy
IP: Logged |
posted
I am glad something is getting done but personally I'd prefer they hire some folks on the coastlines to board incoming ships and scan em before they dock. Seems uneccessarily complicated to do this at foreign ports.
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues.
IP: Logged |
posted
Some of the geniouses that think up these money wasting schemes need to get some education.
It is possible to tote about extremely dangerous radiation sources in a paper bag so that it can not be detected by ANY device from outside that bag....witness the recent poisoning death of the soviet spy in England, for example.
This bit of genious needs to be lumped in with the nonsense of building a wall thaat Mexicans can't climb and other BS that lack of education proposes.
IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, I think they mean well. They are just so ignorant about anything that requires even an inkling of scientific or mathematical background that they are willing to believe their simple minded solutions are not simple minded.
Alpha particles can't get through the sides of a cardboard box and even completely uncontained don't get very far away from the source, but put them inside a Russian spy and they don't have to get far to be quite deadly.
And neutrons, which can penetrate about anything, are anything but easy to detect.
IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
