Law Mandating Scanning of All U.S.-Bound Cargo Containers by 2012: Possible or Impractical?
NEWARK, N.J., June 24 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Cover Report By The Journal Of Commerce
In the high-stakes strategy of homeland security, Congress is demanding that by 2012, cargo containers
bound for the U.S. receive 100 percent scanning prior to loading. Will this move ensure 100 percent cargo
security for the United States? What are the potential disruptions to container terminals and other
international trade business operations? Is this measure even feasible?
Senior Editor R.G. Edmonson takes an in-depth look at the controversies surrounding this mandate in the
June 23 cover story in The Journal of
Commerce. The full article is available online at
Edmonson reports that two weeks ago, at a hearing arranged by New Jersey
Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee subcommittee on maritime
transportation, administration witnesses were called
to account for why they couldn't meet the 2012 deadline.
Congress' own watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, and
the Deputy Customs Commissioner raised issues of risk management,
technological inadequacy, manpower shortages and potential diplomatic and sovereignty problems. But
Congress reaffirmed its will to implement 100
percent scanning in four years, while government witnesses defended their position that the deadline was
unrealistic.
Edmonson also examines the outcome of the World Customs Organization
conference on the same subject, held two days before Lautenberg's hearing. The
conference brought together government and international trade leaders and scanning technology
manufacturers. There, a panel of terminal operators
offered a novel suggestion: The threat of a nuclear or radiological weapon secreted in a container could be
mitigated by the latest generation of
radiation monitors.
Edmonson explains that the outdated Radiation Portal Monitors could detect
radioactivity, but were unable to make a distinction between an atom bomb and
a sack of cat litter. The Advanced Spectroscopic Portal, a device created by
the U.S. government and its industry partners to replace the RPM, actually identifies individual isotopes and
has software that alerts and operator when
radiation is coming from a dangerous source. The ASP has shown that it can isolate a threat without
disrupting the flow of traffic at terminal gates.
Edmonson's story goes into greater detail on pilot project results from the SAFE Port Act of 2006 and the
Advanced Spectroscopic Portal, the
possibility of mandatory cargo container scanning worldwide and the potential
for private sector involvement.
For information on a full-access subscription to the print and electronic
versions of The Journal of Commerce, call 1-888-215-6084 (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. ET)
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SOURCE Commonwealth Business Media Inc.
CONTACT: Joseph Bonney,
editor-in-chief,
+1-973-848-7139,
jbonney@joc.com,
or R.G. (Bob) Edmonson,
senior editor,
+1-202-355-1143,
bedmonson@joc.com,
both of The Journal of Commerce
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