Container Scanning to be Put on Hold?

The voice of reason was sounded in the Senate yesterday when legislation was introduced to suspend the 100 percent scanning requirement for ocean cargo containers.

“Taking a layered approach to cargo security is a more reasonable method to secure our cargo until a new method of X-raying containers is proven effective,” said sponsoring senators Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

It should be noted that these two lawmakers were also among the authors of the 2006 Security and Accountability for Every Port Act. They realize that today’s technology simply does not measure up to the demands made upon most ports for screening compliance.

The SAFE Port Reauthorization Act of 2010 will eliminate the July 2012 deadline Congress enacted in 2007, if the secretary of Homeland Security certifies that a risk-based approach to container security is effective.