The Tech Lane: X-ray eyes uncover the peril within.... (Shipping Containers )

International Herald Tribune ^ | Monday, June 7, 2004 | Hiawatha Bray

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Tech Lane: X-ray eyes uncover the peril within

Hiawatha Bray The Boston Globe
Monday, June 07, 2004

BOSTON To the naked eye, it's just a Ford F-150 pickup truck, one of millions on America's roads. But looking at Bill Howell's computer screen, one can see beneath the sheets of steel to the peril within.

"That's a plastic explosive simulant," Howell said, tapping several cube-shaped objects hidden in the truck's wheel wells. He pointed to a baglike shape. "That's sugar," he said. "It has the same density as fertilizer," which can be transformed into an explosive. At the bottom of the screen, a colored bar turned darker yellow, then orange. Howell tapped an area just above the orange color, near the front of the truck's bed. That's where he'd hidden a sample of radioactive cesium - not enough for a terrorist trying to assemble a dirty bomb, but quite enough for Howell to spot.

Howell was at the wheel of a Z Backscatter Van, one of the more popular products of American Science Engineering Inc. of Billerica, Massachusetts. The van was stuffed with an advanced AS&E "backscatter" X-ray device that emits about as much radiation as you'd get from four chest X-rays. But it's still powerful enough to see through up to four inches of steel and reveal hidden explosives, weapons and people.

"Terrorists can be anywhere and everywhere," said Richard Mastronardi, AS&E's vice president of strategic marketing. "What we're trying to do is develop technologies that give us the broadest amount of protection."

The truck Howell scanned was seeded with make-believe threats as part of a demonstration. But AS&E equipment is busy in the real world as well. The U.S. government already owns dozens of the $600,000 Z vans, using them for everything from homeland security to the defense of military bases. The Pentagon just placed an order for eight more. Many of these Z vans are bound for seaports around the world, as major exporting nations scramble to meet a new United Nations mandate to secure their ports against terrorism.

The world moved quickly to improve airport security after Sept. 11, 2001, but it's far tougher to prevent the smuggling of terrorists and their weapons by sea, where security standards have always been far less rigorous. That is starting to change, though reform is hindered by the sheer scale of the job. For example, about 16 million shipping containers enter the United States each year: 10 million come in by truck or rail from Mexico and Canada, 6 million are brought in by sea from the rest of the world.

Bill Anthony, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, said that inspecting each container for contraband would take too long. "It would do exactly what the terrorists wanted," he said. "It would shut down trade." Instead, the government has set up a cooperative program with big importers and shipping companies. Importers who meet tough new standards for securing their cargoes can bypass container scans or hands-on searches. The plan aims to eliminate costly delays. It also does away with the need to search millions of containers, allowing customs officials to concentrate on a smaller number of "high risk" shipments.

Meanwhile, the International Maritime Organization of the United Nations established new rules for port security. Those rules take effect July 1, but the office estimated last week that only 5 percent of the world's 5,578 ports are in compliance. Ships sailing from noncompliant ports could face delays in unloading at U.S. harbors or could even be turned away. Now there's a worldwide rush to upgrade port security ahead of the deadline. That means more business for AS&E, which makes an array of devices suited to large-scale cargo scanning.

Other companies are profiting from the security push. L-3 Communications, a defense and aerospace conglomerate, makes X-ray security equipment in Massachusetts. "Just in the last few months, we've probably sold half a dozen trucks to different folks in Europe," said Al Barber, senior vice president. L-3 has also sold several of its fixed cargo scanners, priced at about $4 million each.

The inspection system manufactured by Science Applications International of San Diego uses gamma rays instead of X-rays, and can look through six inches of steel. U.S. Customs credits the scanners on the U.S.-$ Mexico border with intercepting drug shipments worth millions of dollars. Still, U.S. Customs estimates that only about 6 percent of all containers entering the United States are inspected.

[Joe Brower]

Possible material for your next book ping!

[GSlob]

Well, to prevent the smuggling of live terrorists - how about strong gamma-irradiation (a few cobalt pencils would do) of all unopened shipping containers? Simply carry the containers on a large belt through the "hot zone". Anyone hiding inside will start decomposing within 20-30 minutes. Something similar was, I believe, proposed for food sterilization.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Good idea, should take care of any strange new bugs trying to enter into the country also.

[Lessismore]

Given that these devices cost $4M each, wouldn't an effective ploy for the terrorist to be to pack a container with explosives and a radiation detector detonator?

The container would go into the X-Ray machine, trigger, and destroy the machine.

Not only would the machine be destroyed, but it would increase the pressure to scan all containers, thereby stifling trade.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Hmm!

[bitt]

bttt

[Travis McGee]

More window dressing, IMHO. The numbers just don't work, they have a few of these vans and so on for millions of containers. The bad guys will just work ops where it doesn't matter if we find a few loads out of many. Interesting tech though.

[Travis McGee]

Every day I sincerely thank God that our enemies are such unimaginative dullards. 9-11 was an aberration: if they were clever, they could be pulling ops of similar magnitude on a monthly basis. Including shutting down our aviation, transportation and postal systems for starters.