Japan passengers, cargo screened for radiation at US airports

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on March 17, 2011 at 1:12 PM
Updated today at 2:34 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security is screening passengers and cargo entering the United States from Japan for "even a blip of radiation," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday.

No harmful levels of radiation have reached the U.S. since the nuclear crisis in Japan sparked by last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, she said.

Customs and Border Protection, which monitors ports, routinely screens passengers and cargo for radiation. Agents have been advised this week to pay particular attention to arrivals from Japan.

Napolitano said the screening of passengers and cargo is being done "in an exercise of caution."

Amy Kudwa, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, said there have been reports of radiation being detected from passengers arriving from Japan at several airports, including in Chicago, Dallas and Seattle. But none of the reported incidents involved dangerous or harmful amounts of radiation. She said radiation can come from medical treatments, equipment or just flying itself.

The agency handles more than half a million radiation alarms a year, though most are related to medical procedures.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/CBP-chec ... 84834.html