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The United States has finished deployment and testing of radiation detection technology at three ports in Mexico and Panama, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced this week (see GSN, Oct. 1, 2009).
Installed through the U.S. Megaports Initiative, each new system at Mexico's Port of Manzanillo and Panama's Colon Container Terminal and Port of Cristobal is intended to scan cargo to detect nuclear and radioactive materials.
"These three new operational Megaports strengthen our capability to prevent dangerous nuclear and radiological materials from being smuggled in shipping containers transiting the global maritime system," NNSA Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator Ken Baker said in a press release.
"Cooperation and support from our foreign partners like Panama and Mexico is key to the success of the Megaports Initiative as we work to meet the goals of the president's nuclear security agenda," Baker said.
The U.S. nuclear agency has now completed deployment of radiation sensors to Panamanian seaports through the Megaports program. The Mexican facility is the third to receive Megaports technology, with another set for completion in the next fiscal year. The Bahamas, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Jamaica have joined the program (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Feb. 2).