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37 Admin. & Reg. L. News 10 (2011-2012)
Thwarting Nuclear Terrorism through Container Inspections

handle is hein.journals/admreln37 and id is 12 raw text is: Thwarting Nuclear Terrorism Through Container Inspections By Nitin Bakshi, Stephen Flynn, and Noah Gans* Each year, ocean-going vessels transport millions of shipping containers to the United States. These containers provide terrorists with a potentially attractive way to hide a nuclear device destined for U.S. shores.The successful smuggling and detonation of such a device would be disastrous. In addition to lives lost, the detonation of a nuclear device in a port could lead to losses in the range of $55-$220 billion. Even if it were not detonated, the successful smuggling of a nuclear device into a U.S. port has the potential to disrupt global supply chains: anxiety that other containers may contain nuclear devices would result in stepped-up inspections that would cause congestion throughout the global inter- modal transportation system. U.S. Security Initiatives in Place at International Ports To counter this threat of nuclear terrorism, the United States has initi- ated various security measures at both domestic and foreign ports.Two impor- tant security measures implemented at international ports, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Secure Freight Initiative (SFI), seek to detect the presence of nuclear devices in shipping containers at overseas ports, before such containers are loaded onto a vessel bound for the U.S. CSI, a program administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), uses an automated targeting system that employs rules-based software to iden- * Nitin Bakshi is an assistant professor at the London Business School; Stephen Flynn is president of the Center for National Policy; Noah Gans is a professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. This article is a based on the authors' paper, Estimating the Operational Impact of Container Inspections at International Ports, 57 MGMT. Se. 1 20 (January 2011). An earlier version of the article appeared as aWharton Risk Center Issues Brief Administrative and Regulatory Law News tify containers that are at risk of being tampered with by terrorists.A key input to this system is the container's shipping manifest, which contains information about the container's sender, recipient, and contents. CBP mandates that an ocean carrier transporting a container to the U.S. provide manifest information to CSI officials at least 24 hours prior to the container's lading onto a vessel that will call on a U.S. port. Manifests and other data are analyzed at CBP's National Targeting Center in Arlington, Virginia, and containers that are identi- fied as suspect are flagged to be inspected by the local customs authority at the port of origin before they are shipped to U.S. ports.These customs officials typically use gamma or high-energy x-ray radi- ography and either hand-held mobile or stationary radiation detection technology to screen the high-risk containers and ensure that they do not contain a nuclear weapon or radiation dispersal device. SFI is ajoint initiative of CBP, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of State. Its purpose is to leverage learning from other port secu- rity initiatives, such as Operation Safe Commerce, and to serve as a pilot for a system that might be capable of scanning 100 percent of U.S.-bound containers. Under SFI, all U.S.-bound containers arriving at participating overseas seaports are scanned with both non-intrusive radiographic imaging and passive radiation detection equipment placed at terminal entrance gates. Optical character recognition is used to identify containers and classify them by destination. Sensor and image data gathered through this primary inspection is then transmitted in near real time to the National Targeting Center inVirginia.There, CBP officials incorporate these data into their overall scoring of the risk posed by contain- ers and target high-risk containers for further scrutiny overseas.Any container that triggers an alarm during primary 10 inspection is automatically deemed to be high-risk and undergoes a more sensitive inspection. One-Hundred Percent Scanning Requirement A 2007 U.S. law,Implement- ing Reconmmendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, popularly called the 9/11 Commission Act, requires that before any cargo bound for the United States is loaded onto a ship at an international port, it must be scanned to detect radiological contraband.The deadline for compliance with this law is July 1, 2012, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security grants an extension, which can be offered in two-year incre- ments.This law is a significant deviation from CBP's CSI approach of scanning only cargo it identifies as being high-risk, and the operational feasibility of 100 percent scanning has been questioned by a wide range of participants in the mari- time supply chain: CBP and European customs officials, trade associations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufac- turers, and corporate leaders.The most commonly expressed concern is that this security requirement will generate congestion that will increase the cost of doing business and hurt commerce. In the face of this resistance to the legis- lative protocol, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has already indicated that she intends to grant a two-year extension. Benefits and Costs of 100 Percent Scanning An obvious goal of 100 percent container scanning is to detect and neutralize any nuclear weapons and to curb the illegal movement of radiological material.A stringent security regime also serves to deter terrorists from attempting to infiltrate the maritime supply chain in the first place.A less obvious benefit is Volume 37, Number 1

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