Models exist for tightening air cargo screening, specialists say

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Israeli government both have model procedures for securing freight with technology that the Homeland Security Department could emulate to tighten cargo screening aboard U.S.-bound flights, according to several transportation security experts.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on Monday announced new security measures for planes carrying cargo to prevent terrorists from concealing explosives in shipments, such as those originating in Yemen that were defused by officials on Oct. 29. The department is "working with our international and private sector partners on the expansion of layered detections system, including technology and other measures," she said.

The challenge for the government and carriers will be identifying what is inside packages before they leave foreign countries --which don't have federal officers on site --without interrupting U.S. supply chains, said Robert Scott Trotter, a former CBP official who is now a senior research scientist at the Texas Transportation Institute, a part of the Texas A&M University System.

"Almost any delay is unacceptable to shippers who are trying to keep [inventory] moving," he said. "The premise of the container security initiative [that CBP uses] for sea containers has served as a good yardstick as to what could be done to make sure that cargo is as secure as possible before loading on carriers destined for the U.S."

CBP generally tries to screen materials at the port of departure and uses automated targeting tools that draw on advance information from companies and U.S. intelligence to identify cargo that poses a potential threat, according to agency officials.

"You would like to know what's coming at you before it ever gets to you," Trotter said. He added that carriers send CBP specified freight details that the government checks against law enforcement databases.

In addition, the agency works with foreign countries to move cargo through large X-ray machines and radiation-detection devices that can quickly inspect high-risk containers.

"I do not think that the job is too big to do," Trotter said. Israel continues to secure its passengers and air cargo efficiently, he noted. "Of course, their size and scope are less than the U.S., but still they do their security work extremely well," he said.

Trotter expects DHS to take precautions to avoid slowing the flow of air cargo, though extra operating costs for carriers would be unavoidable, he said. Shippers generally shoulder most expenses for cargo screening overseas.

"The biggest issue facing most air carriers is the sheer volume of freight," Trotter said. "But the loss of one aircraft through a terrorist act would far outweigh any additional screening costs."

Industry officials, however, said DHS does not have the staff to enforce cargo inspections worldwide. The Transportation Security Administration has yet to certify equipment that can examine the contents of large containers, according to federal auditors. And currently, companies operating nonpassenger planes are not required to screen all cargo on U.S.-bound flights.

"Does TSA even have the wherewithal to implement and oversee that type of program [on nonpassenger planes]? I don't think they do with their current level of staffing," said Michael Whatley, a consultant with the Air Cargo Security Alliance. Every day, 50,000 tons of cargo is transported on passenger and nonpassenger flights originating in the United States, he noted.

For passenger flights inside the United States, cargo inspection costs range from $250,000 to $500,000 per facility annually, Whatley said.