"Customs and Border Protection has worked hand-in-hand with state and local government to ensure that the nation's busiest seaport is also the safest," said CBP Commissioner W. Ralph Basham. "Nearly all containers currently exiting this port via truck and rail are screened for nuclear and radiological materials, and by January we will be at 100 percent. The mobile radiation portal monitors provide CBP with a tactical edge to conduct screening operations, as they can easily be deployed anywhere, including supporting state and locals to secure a major event."
Commissioner Basham was joined for a tour of American President Lines operations by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), CBP Los Angeles Field Director Kevin W. Weeks and CBP Los Angeles/Long Beach Port Director Todd A. Hoffman.
The Security and Accountability for Every Port Act, signed Oct. 13 by the President, calls for modernized inspection technologies, codifies two CBP global port security programs and instructs the Department of Homeland Security to make plans for expedited resumption of trade should an attack impact a port.
In addition to the radiation portals, other sophisticated equipment used at LA/Long Beach by CBP in its layered enforcement strategy includes large-scale, non-intrusive X-ray technology that can scan an entire sea container within two to three minutes, and personal radiation detection devices that are assigned to all front-line officers.
