FEDS EXAMINE CARGO CONTAINER FOR RADIOACTIVITY
By WAYNE PARRY
The Associated Press
9/10/02 6:19 PM
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Federal authorities were examining a cargo container at Port Newark on Tuesday after traces of radioactivity were detected during a search for stowaways.
The container was aboard a ship at the former Sea-Land terminal at the seaport, a law enforcement source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The company is now known as APM Terminals.
The FBI, Port Authority police, the Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of Energy were examining the container, but there was no indication Tuesday evening that it contained a weapon, the source said.
"They're trying to determine if a reading detecting radiation is unusual or not, or if it's just part of the normal course of things," the source said.
The area was cordoned off about mid-afternoon.
The container first came to the attention of U.S. Customs inspectors conducting routine examinations of the cargo when they thought they heard sounds coming from inside it.
"They thought they heard some noises and they suspected smuggling," the source said.
Agents then examined the outside of the container with radiation detectors and determined there was some level of radioactivity in or near it. It was not immediately known what the level was, or if it was considered dangerous.
Calls to the agencies involved in the search were not immediately returned.
A man who answered the telephone at APM Terminals said the business was closed Tuesday evening, and that he did not know the status of the container search.