The Department of Homeland Security, under a program called the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal Initiative, recently announced the award of contracts to three companies- Raytheon Company – Integrated Defense Systems, Thermo Electron Corporation, and Canberra Industries, Inc.- to install advanced radiation detector systems in some U.S. ports. The first test installation is slated to be in the Port of Staten Island. These contracts come after months of debate and argument over the issue of limited ability to inspect more than 5 percent of all cargo containers entering the country. According to ThreatsWatch.org, the fear in this matter is that dangerous contraband such as a radiological dirty bomb or a chemical-biological weapon might enter through the ports undetected.
