DHS Launches $1.2b Nuke Port Security Plan

UPI has reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a $1.2b plan to deploy more advanced radiological screening devices at U.S. ports. By 2011, the DHS expects to have 1,400 of the next-generation screeners deployed at both ports and border crossings. The first 80 machines are scheduled to be installed this fall at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island, N.Y., Global Security Newswire reported Monday

The new detectors will range in cost from $350,000 to about $500,000 each, compared to the $180,000 for those currently employed. Officials, however, expect that the more-expensive systems will reduce the number of containers flagged for more-complete inspections each year from 821,000 to 15,000, the report said. The DHS also announced a plan to deploy the new devices in and around U.S. cities, and Oxford said work on a $3 million pilot deployment program has begun in New York City, GSN said. The new technology is also to be deployed to ports abroad as part of the Energy Department's Megaports Initiative to secure shipping before it enters U.S. waters, the report said. Source: UPI