Industry on notice in L.A. port to follow nuke detection procedures
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has informed terminal operators and truckers serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that the agency will not tolerate containers exiting the port without a proper radiation detection reading.
The 'zero-tolerance' policy recently went into effect after the agency in December completed installation of radiation portal monitors (RPM) throughout the twin complex to screen 100 percent of containers that exit by truck or on-dock rail, Port Director Todd A. Hoffman said in a phone interview. The agency invested $25 million for 85 fixed and 24 mobile RPMs.
The Department of Homeland Security's stated goal is to install 621 drive-through monitors at the nation's ports and screen 98 percent of all sea containers entering the United States by the end of September.
'One hundred percent means 100 percent. And the American public should not expect anything less,' Hoffman said.
The directive comes on the heels of the agency's nationwide 'zero-tolerance' policy regarding so-called 'gate outs,' or unauthorized releases of containers that CBP has flagged for automated or physical inspection. CBP is driven in both cases by a desire to make sure that no loopholes exist for a potential terrorist to slip out of the port a container with a nuclear or radioactive weapon that can be used to attack a city or high-value target.
The deployment of RPMs in Los Angeles differs by terminal, but the detection arrays are usually situated near truck exit gates and entrances to the rail yard through which shuttle vehicles pass with containers to be loaded on trains.
Infractions are extremely limited, but the enforcement policy is a reminder to pay attention to the government rules on container security. Mistakes are more likely to be made by some of the thousands of truckers that serve the ports, some of whom are infrequent visitors, than trained longshoremen familiar with the 'rodeo' drill of funneling containers through specific aisles of the closed loop system for on-dock rail.
CBP has many checks and balances to make sure drivers follow RPM procedures. It is difficult to circumvent the RPMs because traffic is channeled between concrete barriers and digital cameras verify that trucks have passed through the detection array. CBP officials worked closely with terminal operators to determine the best type of equipment to use and integrate screening processes in daily operations to maintain container flows without increasing equipment or labor.
The biggest challenge is making sure drivers go through at the posted speed because the machines cannot take accurate readings at speeds above 10 mph or so. Speed bumps, gate arms or red/green light systems are variously employed to control traffic at different locations.
Drivers can be penalized anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 for egregious violations of the security rules, but Hoffman said the agency's preference is to help educate truckers on the proper procedures.
So far CBP has only had one situation where it determined a local drayage driver willfully tried to avoid the RPMs. Hoffman said the driver made five trips the same day and continued to come through the gates at a high rate of speed. The case is pending and could be mitigated on appeal.
CBP officers can radio ahead to the outbound booth if a radiation read was missed to make sure the truck is turned back to repeat the radiation check. In the unlikely event that a truck gets out of the terminal, CBP will use the container ID number picked up by the camera system to reach back to the dispatcher and instruct the trucker to return to the terminal.
'We're not in the business of hammering them,' Hoffman said. 'If we get the container back immediately and it's intact then there is usually no penalty.'
With 5 million containers handled at the port last year, there are bound to be some breakdowns in communication due to language barriers or other issues, he said.
Most repeat drivers know about the traffic signals at the gates and whether the commodity they are carrying has naturally occurring radiation that could trigger the alarms. Hoffman said CBP officers in Los Angeles have to resolve 400 to 500 nuisance alarms on a busy day.
The directive is also designed to make sure terminal operators communicate when they plan to operate weekend gate hours so that CBP can assign officers to monitor traffic and direct trucks to secondary readers when their cargo sets off an alarm. Terminal operating hours are unpredictable on weekends and CBP does not staff the gates when facilities are closed. On-dock rail operations can also be irregular compared to the steady flow at truck gates.
Terminals usually are very good about providing advance notice of their weekend and on-dock rail hours, but slipups occur on rare occasions, Hoffman said.
