Major Seaports: Radiation Detection by Year's End
Jim Kouri, CPP
June 26, 2005
Department of Homeland Security officials claim that the nation’s busiest seaports -- Los Angeles/Long Beach, California -- will have complete Radiation Portal Monitor (RPM) coverage by year’s end.
Three terminal locations, at Piers 400, 300 and Trans Pacific, within the Port of Los Angeles are scheduled to go on-line by the end of June. A total of ninety RPMs, which will screen all international container traffic and vehicles exiting the facility for nuclear materials or hidden sources of radiation, will be operational by December 2005.
RPMs are detection devices that provide US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers with a passive, nonintrusive means to screen containers, vessels or vehicles for the presence of nuclear and radiological materials. These systems do not emit radiation but are capable of detecting various types of radiation emanating from nuclear devices, dirty bombs, special nuclear materials, natural sources, and isotopes commonly used in medicine and industry.
By applying advanced technology, we will soon be able to screen every vehicle and container entering the nation’s busiest seaports for nuclear and radiological materials, without disrupting the free flow of trade. Complete and efficient coverage at the LA/Long Beach Seaports is a major step forward for national security and a model for other ports,” said Secretary Chertoff in a statement to the nation's largest police chiefs association.
DHS implements a multilayered strategy for screening cargo shipped to the US One such layer is the installation of RPMs at seaports, land border ports of entry and crossings nationwide, to include rail crossings, international airports, and international mail and express consignment courier facilities, in an effort to screen 100 percent of all incoming goods, people, and conveyances for radiation.
On April 26, 2005, Oakland’s Seaport became the first in the country to have complete coverage. RPMs at the LA/Long Beach Seaports will complement existing cargo security measures to include, five mobile gamma-ray and two X-Ray scanners, personal radiation detectors, and isotope identification devices.
The LA/Long Beach Seaports receive approximately 44 percent of all sea cargo destined for the United States. More than 4.3 million foreign cargo containers arrived at the LA/Long Beach Seaports last year -- an average of one container every seven seconds.
The FY 2005 Port Security Grant Program uses a risk-based formula to allocate funds to protect our ports from acts of terrorism. The program fortifies security at our nation’s ports by providing funding to increase protection against potential threats from small craft, underwater attacks and vehicle borne improvised explosives, and to enhance explosive detection capabilities aboard vehicle ferries and associated facilities.
The new risk-based formula considers three elements: threat, vulnerability, and consequence. As part of this risk-management approach, the port security grant program will ensure federally regulated ports, terminals, and US inspected passenger vessels receiving the funds represent assets of the highest national strategic importance. Sixty-six port areas have been identified as eligible applicants for inclusion in the FY 2005 program. Successful applicants will be awarded through a competitive process.
Sources: Department of Homeland Security, US Customs and Border Protection, American Federation of Police
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.
Three terminal locations, at Piers 400, 300 and Trans Pacific, within the Port of Los Angeles are scheduled to go on-line by the end of June. A total of ninety RPMs, which will screen all international container traffic and vehicles exiting the facility for nuclear materials or hidden sources of radiation, will be operational by December 2005.
RPMs are detection devices that provide US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers with a passive, nonintrusive means to screen containers, vessels or vehicles for the presence of nuclear and radiological materials. These systems do not emit radiation but are capable of detecting various types of radiation emanating from nuclear devices, dirty bombs, special nuclear materials, natural sources, and isotopes commonly used in medicine and industry.
By applying advanced technology, we will soon be able to screen every vehicle and container entering the nation’s busiest seaports for nuclear and radiological materials, without disrupting the free flow of trade. Complete and efficient coverage at the LA/Long Beach Seaports is a major step forward for national security and a model for other ports,” said Secretary Chertoff in a statement to the nation's largest police chiefs association.
DHS implements a multilayered strategy for screening cargo shipped to the US One such layer is the installation of RPMs at seaports, land border ports of entry and crossings nationwide, to include rail crossings, international airports, and international mail and express consignment courier facilities, in an effort to screen 100 percent of all incoming goods, people, and conveyances for radiation.
On April 26, 2005, Oakland’s Seaport became the first in the country to have complete coverage. RPMs at the LA/Long Beach Seaports will complement existing cargo security measures to include, five mobile gamma-ray and two X-Ray scanners, personal radiation detectors, and isotope identification devices.
The LA/Long Beach Seaports receive approximately 44 percent of all sea cargo destined for the United States. More than 4.3 million foreign cargo containers arrived at the LA/Long Beach Seaports last year -- an average of one container every seven seconds.
The FY 2005 Port Security Grant Program uses a risk-based formula to allocate funds to protect our ports from acts of terrorism. The program fortifies security at our nation’s ports by providing funding to increase protection against potential threats from small craft, underwater attacks and vehicle borne improvised explosives, and to enhance explosive detection capabilities aboard vehicle ferries and associated facilities.
The new risk-based formula considers three elements: threat, vulnerability, and consequence. As part of this risk-management approach, the port security grant program will ensure federally regulated ports, terminals, and US inspected passenger vessels receiving the funds represent assets of the highest national strategic importance. Sixty-six port areas have been identified as eligible applicants for inclusion in the FY 2005 program. Successful applicants will be awarded through a competitive process.
Sources: Department of Homeland Security, US Customs and Border Protection, American Federation of Police
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.
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