Detection, tracking and reporting chemical and radiological contraband in shipping containers without impeding the flow of commerce

It is paramount in the worldwide shipping industry that the smooth and efficient movement of containers through ports be unimpeded by contraband inspection methods. To date, this has not been realized since proposed inspection processes require a minimum of minutes and possibly as long as hours. Therefore, it is not possible to inspect every shipping container within the current state-of-the-art. An in situ chemical and radiological detection method and instrumentation for automatically performing chemical and radiological analyses for contraband materials and report results of the analyses along with the location and integrity of the container instantaneously at any point along the transport pathway has been developed and tested. The chemical and radiological detection system is interfaced with a container tracking system that relays analysis results continuously and in real time along with location and physical integrity of the container. Time-consuming chemical and radiological analyses are performed during “dead time” of the container transit process. Container inspections in ports and at border crossings and effectively eliminated or significantly reduced and smooth, unimpeded flow of containers through U.S. ports or across international borders is assured. Demonstration of the detection method and instrumentation has been carried out in a 5-day, 1500-mile container road test in the southeastern U.S.; a 10-day test at the Department of Homeland Security's Container Security Test Bed facility located at Transportation Security Laboratory in Atlantic City, NJ; and a 2-week test at the Office of the Sheriff of Jasper County South Carolina. The multi-day testing procedure simulates typical transit times of shipping containers. Demonstration materials include cesium-137 (radioactive isotope), methyl benzoate (a cocaine decomposition product) and cocaine, triethyl phosphate and methyl salicylate (chemical warfare agent simulants), ortho-nitrotoluene (TNT decomposition product) and effluents from various forms of tobacco. Containers were standard 40-ft and 20-ft dry box shipping containers and a 16-ft box trailer. The method and results of tests of detection, tracking and reporting of contraband materials along with reporting of the physical security (breaching) of the container are described.