Thread: U.S. donates nuke detectors to Mexico (SPP)

U.S. donates nuke detectors
4/17/07

Mexico agreed Monday to allow the United States to install radiation detection equipment at the nation´s four busiest seaports in an effort to prevent smuggling of nuclear material.
The United States will donate the equipment for use in the ports, and will also train Mexican customs agents in its operation.

The accord, signed by Finance Secretary Agustín Carstens and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodwin, represents a new phase of the 2005 "Security and Prosperity Partnership" agreement signed by Mexico, Canada and the United States.

"This agreement not only bolsters the customs office´s security and efficiency, it also without doubt will elevate our level of competitiveness," Carstens said.

According to Juan José Bravo Moisés, the customs administrator general, the radiation detection equipment will be in operation by the end of the year.

the detection equipment will be installed in the Pacific ports of Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas, and in Altamira and Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico.

Mexican Customs has pursued a program in recent years aimed at boosting its x-ray and gamma-ray inspection efficiency at the nation´s major seaports, airports and highway checkpoints. The improved technology allows for checking loads for contraband and weapons without having to open cargo containers or truck trailers, increasing security and smoothing trade.

The new agreement will upgrade the inspection capacity, adding the ability to detect any nuclear or other radioactive material. The equipment that the United States is able to provide puts Mexican customs procedures "among the most efficient and secure in the world," according to the Finance Secretariat.

Mexico and the United States have been cooperating in nuclear nonproliferation work in other areas as well in recent years.

For example, the United States has helped increase security at the nuclear research center outside Mexico City, which includes a TRIGA Mark III nuclear reactor that is used for research purposes.

The two nations are also preparing for a large joint international emergency response exercise to be held in Mexico in 2008.

http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/24267.html

The two nations are also preparing for a large joint international emergency response exercise to be held in Mexico in 2008.

My freakin blood is boiling
for many reasons
on many levels