Senate passes bill requiring 100% container scanning

A bill requiring 100% screening of US bound containers for nuclear and radiological substances was passed by the Senate last night, and is expected to be passed by the House today. While the White House has criticized this requirement on a number of occasions, it has not yet expressed an intent to veto the bill. The radiation scanning requirement deadline is for 2012, but allows DHS to delay implementation by two year increments. The bill also requires the following:

• 100% inspection of air cargo carried on passenger aircraft by the end of 2009.
• 100% of all inbound ocean containers will undergo radiological scanning within 5 years. Currently DHS has established the Secure Freight Initiative as a pilot project for scanning US bound containers at six ports overseas in Pakistan, Oman, Singapore, the UK, Korea and Honduras.
  

There are significant questions as to how the program will be rolled out, especially regarding the implementation of scanning equipment in hundreds of overseas ports, the efficacy of the scanning technology, which parties are responsible for purchasing the equipment and the impact on the flow of goods to the US. As developments occur, CSCC will continue to update readers about developments along with analysis on the issue.

For further information, click on these links for extended articles:

1. Full text of the bill: http://www.speaker.gov/pdf/HR1.pdf

2. Congressional Quarterly article: http://homeland.cq.com/hs/display.do?docid=2558983&sourcetype=31&binderName=

3. AP article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070727/ap_on_go_co/homeland_security