A Fast, Accurate, Way to Scan

Millions of Sea-Cargo Containers

In the United States, 360 ports—including the “megaports” of Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, San Juan and Oakland—handle container cargo. Another 2,000 plus ports worldwide participate in container traffic. In February 2008, Department of Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff noted that 11 million containers arrive at U.S. ports each year, pointing out the need for non-intrusive inspection: “If we did open every box, there’d be a line of ships stretching across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans waiting to enter our country.”

U.S. federal law mandates that all containers entering the country must be scanned for radiation. Passport technologies can quickly and accurately identify elements used in the creation of weapons of mass destruction, such as highly enriched uranium, other radioactive materials, nerve agents, and explosives. They can also identify commercial items of interest to customs inspectors including products subject to tariffs, or illegal drugs and other contraband.

Passport’s high-throughput technology is capable of scanning containers immediately upon their removal from the ships, generating automatic alarms without human intervention within 15 seconds. The technology’s 3D capability will pinpoint the exact location of the materials in the container, resolving alarms within two minutes while lessening or eliminating the need for manual inspection.