"CVG to host air cargo security test"

Monday, March 26, 2007

CVG to host security test
The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer


The federal Department of Homeland Security will test air cargo screening
technologies this spring at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
Airport, as part of a $30 million pilot program.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the arm of the homeland
security department that handles passenger screening at airports, announced
today that the test program would be coming to the Hebron airport.

About a quarter of the air cargo hauled by U.S. carriers goes onto passenger
planes. But less than 20 percent of that cargo is screened, raising concerns
among some experts who call it a major gap in security.

The TSA has been criticized for its slow response to tightening up cargo
security by a couple of reports from the Government Accountability Office
(GAO), the independent investigative arm of Congress.

The $30 million test program started in June 2006, spurred in part by a
critical GAO report issued in October 2005.

At San Francisco International Airport, the TSA is testing X-ray machines,
explosive trace detectors, and automated explosives detection systems. At
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the agency testing machines to detect
hidden intruders and stowaways.

The test at CVG will focus on screening what a TSA statement called
"significant amounts of cargo," including an assessment of the flow and
speed of screening.

In addition to the TSA and the local airport, the tests here will be run by
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Transportation Security
Laboratory.

A bill pending in Congress, authored by U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass.,
would require the screening of all cargo on passenger jets by 2009. Airline
executives oppose the bill, saying it would be too costly and cause
operational problems.

The TSA has set a goal of screening 100 percent of what it calls "elevated
risk cargo" or packages from unknown shippers. More than five years after
the 9/11 attacks, it's still developing the technology to screen entire
pallets for explosives.

The agency also hasn't certified any explosive-detection machines for cargo.

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