Original article from World Cargo News.
August 10th
US-based Decision Sciences International Corporation has deployed its first fully operational Multi-Mode Passive Detection System (MMPDS) at Hutchison Ports Holdings (HPH)’s Freeport Container Port in the Bahamas.
Designed to locate unshielded to heavily shielded nuclear and radiological threats inside containers, MMPDS is based on technology originally developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and is claimed to be capable of scanning all types of container, vehicle or rail car without impeding the flow of commerce and without generating harmful radiation.
Since MMPDS is completely passive, with no radiation or safety issues relative to its use, it can safely scan all types of cargo, and is harmless to animals, people, food and other materials sensitive to high energy radiation.
Due to its ability to see through heavy shielding, MMPDS can provide an effective defence against nuclear smuggling -what RAND and other researchers have said is a “one trillion dollar catastrophe waiting to happen,” Decision Sciences said in a statement.
“MMPDS is safe, effective, reliable, accurate and represents the best of American scientific innovation,” said Decision Sciences’ president and CEO Dr Stanton D Sloane. “This technology addresses a serious threat not only to our safety and security, but to the global economy as well.
“MMPDS enables compliance with the US 9/11 Commission recommendation for 100% scanning – a recommendation that was enacted into law by the US Congress,” he added.
“Securing the world’s global supply chain is vital and there is no technology currently deployed that can both safely scan shielded and unshielded cargo for hidden radiological threats and do so without slowing the flow of activity at a busy port,” said Godfrey Smith, CEO at Freeport Container Port
“Freeport Container Port’s geopolitical location, its highly trained workforce, high transhipment traffic and commitment to high safety standards make it an ideal partner for this installation,” he said.
Read the original article here.
