Truck drivers who haul containers from the Port of
Charleston are bracing for delays at the terminal gates next week, when the
federal government starts checking their loads for radiation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection acknowledged Thursday that the new
security procedure, which begins Monday, might result in longer waits and
unanticipated snags. The agency also said it will work to minimize any
disruptions in the flow of goods from the port.
"We're asking everyone to be patient. ... It's going to be a whole new
experience," customs officer Regina Sullivan told members of the Charleston
Motor Carriers Association.
In an effort to keep confusion to a minimum, Customs has changed its mind
about activating the drive-through detectors all at the same time, Sullivan
said.
Instead, the agency will limit the inspections on Monday to containers
leaving the State Ports Authority's Columbus Street terminal. The devices at the
North Charleston and Mount Pleasant yards will be switched on Tuesday and
Wednesday, respectively.
The electronic cargo scans are part of a broader federal plan to safeguard
the waterfront against terrorism.
Charleston, home of the nation's fourth-largest container port, is among the
first on the East Coast to install the radiation monitors.
The contraptions resemble big toll booths and are designed to detect even the
smallest traces of radioactive material, whether the source is an explosive
device or particles that occur naturally in everyday products, such as kitty
litter and ceramic floor tiles.
The procedure for drivers is simple enough: Trucks will pass under the
monitors at about 5 mph. If their freight shows no signs of radiation, a green
light will illuminate.
"They shouldn't have to come to a stop at all," said Customs officer Craig
Richmond.
Drivers with containers that trigger an alert will be instructed to pull off
to the side to be scanned with a handheld device. This secondary inspection
could last 15 minutes, Richmond said. In rare cases, a driver could be told to
leave a container with Customs if the radiation source cannot be immediately
verified.
Most of the questions industry representatives raised with the agency
Thursday focused on the delay factor, a sensitive bottom-line issue in an era of
near-record fuel costs.
"We don't want to hold you up any longer than we have to," Richmond said.
When asked how many containers could be expected to set off an alert on a
given day, officials from the federal laboratory that is installing the monitors
said the figures vary at other ports. They refused to elaborate.
Rick Kelly of Commercial Transportation Inc. in North Charleston said just
one or two unexpected delays on the same day could make the difference between
profit and loss for independent drivers who rely on multiple daily deliveries.
"At $3.50 a gallon, we need a Plan B," Kelly said.
Other industry representatives asked why imported containers can't be scanned
when they're being offloaded instead of placing the burden on drivers. Richmond
said that would force ships to stay in port longer and require more inspectors,
among other factors.
George W. Kanski, president of the motor carrier association and safety
director for MCO Transport Inc. in North Charleston, said concerns about
crippling delays at the port exits are probably overblown.
In any event, it's no use complaining, Kanski said. He called the container
inspections "part of the cost of doing business" in the wake of the Sept. 11
attacks.
"It's here to make sure that every day, we don't have to live with the horror
of 9/11," Kanski said. "We have to make it work, no two ways about it."
John P. McDermott covers economic development and real estate. He can be
reached at jmcdermott@postandcourier.com or
937-5572.
