Scanning Cargo Containers

In a recent blog post, I critiqued an anonymous column in CSO Online. Its basic premise was that we've spent too much money for too few results in the area of homeland security. One of its strawmen indicated that -- because we're only searching 3% of containers that enter the country -- it would be impossible to search significantly more, thus we should simply not bother. We should spend the money on reducing the deficit. Or a giant block party for the entire country on July 4th. Or something like that.

Anyhow, among other things, I pointed out that a few dollars sensibly invested in container-scanning technologies could provide a dramatically increased capability for securing ports of entry. Sure enough, I recently noticed the following new cargo-scanner:

Container Inspection * Enables the terminal to scan high volumes of containers in normal traffic. * Provides useful, timely data to help identify and inspect high-risk containers. * Integrates data from many sources, including legacy and third-party systems. * Increases throughput by collecting and storing data quickly for later analysis. * Can serve as a central component of a layered, comprehensive security solution. * Open-architecture design facilitates integration and expansion. ...ICIS can collect data from cargo-scanning systems throughout the terminal, including legacy and third-party systems... [and] offers these high-speed scanning capabilities: * Gamma ray imaging: The VACIS® gamma ray imaging system provides radiographic images of container contents. * Radiation scanning: The EXPLORANIUM™ Radiation Portal Monitor (RPM) provides a graphic profile of radioactivity levels inside the container. * OCR: OCR portal system technology automatically identifies containers to enable ICIS to integrate data for each container.

Integrated Container Inspection System (ICIS)