Port of L.A. Seeking On-Site Cargo-Inspection Facility

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he Port of Los Angeles wants to check shipping containers on site for dirty bombs or other terrorist threats amid fears that trucking the cargo miles away for inspection could endanger nearby populated neighborhoods and freeways, the Associated Press reported.

A city commission voted to spend $2.5 million to hire a company to design a facility within the port — part of the largest U.S. port complex along with the Port of Long Beach — where agents could screen suspicious cargo, AP said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors now conduct follow-up inspections at a warehouse in Carson, Calif., more than six miles from the port.

Officials are worried because trucks that ferry the containers pass through residential areas along suburban streets and travel two major freeways often jammed with commuters during rush hour, AP said.

Aileen Suliveras, acting port director for the customs agency, supports building a new facility and believes the current warehouse is located in Carson partly because it was the most feasible bid received from private companies, AP said.

Around the country, daily inspections are carried out at sites miles away from ports, a customs official told AP.