Security Briefs - April 19 - April 25
The Latest Headlines:
- Nuclear Waste Shipments Could Go Through Populated Areas
- FBI Issues Warning About Attacks at Malls
- Safety Audit Rules Sent to OMB
- Mineta: Airport Screening Deadline Will Be Met
- More Arrests at Nation’s Airports
- Energy Dept. Official Says Nuclear Plants Not Safe
- Some Manhattan Traffic Restrictions Eased
- States Confused Over Security Role
- S.C. Police Practice Nuke Blockade
- Arrest Made in Tunisian Truck Blast
- FBI Says U.S. Banks May Be Terrorist Target
- FBI Issues Warning About Attacks at Malls
Nuclear Waste Shipments Could Go Through Populated Areas
Regardless of what route or transportation mode is chosen to transfer radioactive waste from nuclear plants to a Nevada repository, some shipments will likely have to pass through highly populated areas, the Associated Press reported Monday.While the Bush administration is looking at possible routes that could include using trucks, railroads or barges, opponents say the movement will put millions of people at risk in case of accident or terrorist attack.
Supporters of the plan to bury and seal the waste in Yucca Mountain in Nevada say highly dangerous materials already are transported safely every day. Any final plan by Bush would likely be challenged in court, AP said.
However, Robert Halstead, Nevada's transportation adviser, said using trucks is the only feasible plan at the moment because there is no rail access to Yucca Mountain. Transport Topics
FBI Issues Warning About Attacks at Malls
The FBI issued an alert on Wednesday that al-Qaeda suicide bombers may be ready to strike shopping malls and other public places in the United States, USA Today reported.If consumers refrained from going to malls and spending money, it could lower the demand for trucking services in the months ahead.
This warning comes less than a week after the FBI issued a warning about possible attacks on banks in the Northeast. (Click here for the full story.)
Authorities cautioned that this latest threat could not be substantiated, and no specific targets are mentioned. Transport Topics
Safety Audit Rules Sent to OMB
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget requiring the same types of safety audits of new U.S. carriers that Mexican carriers will face.David Longo, an FMCSA spokesman, said he did not know when OMB would give its approval, but the agency cannot process Mexican carrier applications before the new-entrant rule is finished.
Safety audits of new U.S. trucking operations will be identical to those FMCSA has mandated for Mexican carriers seeking to cross the border to make international deliveries and pickups.
The difference is that Mexican carriers will have to undergo the audits before being admitted to the U.S., while new U.S. and Canadian carriers will be permitted to work for up to 18 months before being audited. Daniel L. Whitten
This story appears in the April 22 print edition of Transport Topics.
Mineta: Airport Screening Deadline Will Be Met
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said Wednesday that the year-end deadline for screening checked bags for explosives will be met, although there won't be as many large detection machines as first predicted, the Associated Press reported.The goal of these machines is to ensure the safety of passengers while limiting delays that can affect truck pickup and delivery of the cargo carried by planes.
While at some airports all bags will be inspected with the $1 million devices, others will have only the $40,000 trace detectors or a combination of the two. They will use a total of 1,100 detection machines and 4,700 smaller devices that detect traces of explosives.
Mineta also said that Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $105 million contract to train 32,000 passenger screeners. Transport Topics
More Arrests at Nation’s Airports
More than 100 employees at two Washington-area airports were arrested and charged with fraud in obtaining their security credentials, news services reported Tuesday.Since Sept. 11, greater emphasis has been put on security in the passenger, maintenance and cargo areas of airports. In some cases, the added security has slowed the service of trucks engaged in pickup and delivery operations.
The Washington Post reported that nearly 140 people, mostly in food service, were arrested at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport
Most of the allegations involve alleged violations of immigration and Social Security laws, Reuters said.
As of last week, Reuters reported, more than 250 people had been arrested at 11 different U.S. airports because they fraudulently obtained their security credentials. Transport Topics
Energy Dept. Official Says Nuclear Plants Not Safe
The Bush administration has not asked Congress for the money requested by the Energy Department to properly protect nuclear weapons plants against terrorist attacks, the New York Times reported Tuesday.ccording to a letter written by Bruce Carnes, director of the Energy Department's Office of Management, Budget and Evaluation, protection against theft of nuclear material or information is "not sufficient." Trucks can be used in the transport of this material, so new security procedures can affect how they do business.
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said he fears that terrorists could break into a plant and use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material.
However, an Energy Department spokeswoman said security of these facilities was improved after the Sept. 11 attacks, and additional funds will be considered if needed, the Times said. Transport Topics
Some Manhattan Traffic Restrictions Eased
Traffic restrictions put into place in Manhattan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are starting to ease, the Associated Press reported Monday.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said that it will allow small trucks into Manhattan at the Holland Tunnel, but will continue to ban all commercial traffic outbound through the facility.
Also, a ban on single-occupancy cars between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. was lifted from the Queens Midtown and Lincoln tunnels, as well as the Queensboro Bridge. Transport Topics
States Confused Over Security Role
Lack of funding, lack of cohesion and lack of direction are just some of the problems facing state governments as they work to get homeland security programs off the ground, USA Today reported Tuesday.Many state agencies are still unsure of their role in the nation's homeland security plan, and compounding that problem, many legislatures are not approving funding for security measures until the federal government begins distributing the security aid it promised to state and local governments, the paper said.
States hesitant to add layers of bureaucracy and create new agencies have put more responsibility on the shoulders of pre-existing state agencies, overtaxing them in some cases, the paper reported.
Officials told USA Today that until the Office of Homeland Security, headed by Tom Ridge, puts forth a standard policy, state governments will continue to put their security plans together piecemeal. Transport Topics
S.C. Police Practice Nuke Blockade
South Carolina state troopers participated in a drill Monday to keep shipments of weapons-grade plutonium out of the state, the Associated Press reported.Gov. Jim Hodges has said that he would do whatever it takes to keep the material out of the state, unless the Department of Energy signs an agreement that the plutonium won’t stay in South Carolina. The material is scheduled to be taken to the Savannah River Site by truck for reprocessing into usable fuel for nuclear reactors, the AP said.
Shipments of the material could begin by May 15, the AP said, and will be escorted by armed federal officers. The shipments would total 76 trailer-loads and would continue until June 2003. There also concerns that terrorists could use these trucks in a terrorist attack.
About three dozen troopers and other law enforcement officers closed off a four-lane road near the Savannah River Site and the Georgia border, the AP reported.
Officials are unsure if the blockade attempted Monday would be effective against an actual shipment, the AP said. Transport Topics
(Click here for related coverage.)
Arrest Made in Tunisian Truck Blast
A day after the Tunisian government declared a recent truck explosion near a synagogue a crime, Agence France Presse reported Tuesday that an arrest has been made in connection with the blast.The April 11 explosion killed 16 and rekindled fears that trucks could be used as weapons by terrorists.
Citing the British Broadcasting Corp., Dow Jones said Monday that the crime was perpetrated by a Tunisian man and one of his relatives. This declaration by the Tunisian government is a reversal from its earlier contention that the blast was an accident.
Germany's Interior Minister Otto Schily said Tuesday that an arrest had been made. It is belived that the perpetrator of the explosion was killed in the blast. Transport Topics
FBI Says U.S. Banks May Be Terrorist Target
The FBI said Friday that officials have received unsubstantiated information that terrorists are considering attacks against U.S. banks in the Northeast, news services reported.Because such threats are taken seriously, they can cause certain streets and roads to be closed, or disrupt traffic patterns, affecting commercial trucking.
Authorities said they have no information about a specific plot or threats to any specific financial institution. Transport Topics
