The $1 million security upgrade of five 20-foot-high detectors allows the New Jersey terminal to scan cargo containers for radiation to help prevent the infiltration of unauthorized nuclear weapons. Prior to installation of the monitors, U.S. customs agents used hand-held radiation detectors and were able to examine only 8 percent of the terminal's cargo containers.
The new scanners "ensure that 100 percent of containers coming through this facility are scanned," says Jim Kukucka, executive vice president of Global Marine Terminal, where the monitors are now in use. After trucks are loaded with containers from ships, they must pass through one of the scanning units, which look like inverted football goal posts. If radiation is detected, an alarm sounds and the suspicious containers are subjected to a more in-depth search.
Since their installation, the scanners have detected radiation in some outgoing cargo, but those emissions have been from such items as ceramic tiles, kitty litter and bananas, all of which naturally emit low levels of radiation.
Kukucka was not completely sure why Global was chosen to be the first seaport terminal to be outfitted with the scanners, but the fact that it is very close to the Statue of Liberty and the location of the World Trade Center might have been a factor.
