U.S. donates "dirty bomb" detectors to Mexican ports

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Mon Apr 16, 2007

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States will donate radiation detectors to Mexico and help install them in busy sea ports to prevent a terrorist attack with a "dirty bomb" or other radioactive material.

The U.S. Department of Energy will provide equipment and train customs officers at major ports on the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts, Mexico's Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The United States believes the smuggling of nuclear material, a dirty bomb or other weapons of mass destruction in a commercial cargo container to be a major security threat.

In February, a Saudi wing of al Qaeda called for attacks on suppliers of oil to the United States, including Mexico.

"Mexico customs will be able to install, in a very short term, the most advanced nuclear and radioactive detection technology, allowing Mexico's customs ports to be among the world's most secured and efficient," Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said.

Scientists say it would be easy for terrorists to strap low-grade radioactive material to conventional explosives, creating a so-called dirty bomb meant to spread radiation over a wide area.

Mexico increasingly receives cargo ships from Asia destined for the United States. Cargo is unloaded in Mexico and transported by land to its northern neighbor.

After the al Qaeda threat, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Mexico, the second-largest exporter of crude to the United States, did not need to take additional measures to make its oil installations safe.