Security Briefs - Sept. 25 - Oct. 1
b>The Latest Headlines:
- CNF to Pay $6.5 Million for Emery Worldwide Hazmat Violations
- DHS Expected to Release Visa-Tracking Plan
- TSA Chief Touts Passenger Screening System
- DHS Expected to Release Visa-Tracking Plan
CNF to Pay $6.5 Million for Emery Worldwide Hazmat Violations
CNF Inc. agreed to pay $6.5 million in fines and plead guilty to charges that Emery Worldwide Airlines Inc., its now-closed air-cargo unit, violated federal hazardous materials laws, the company and the Justice Department said.The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company pleaded guilty to 12 counts of violating the Hazardous Material Transportation Act. The charges stem from an investigation of Emery that began in 1999. The investigation revealed that the airline failed to notify pilots they were hauling hazardous materials 19 times between October 1998 and July 1999,
The type of hazardous material involved included freight classified as miscellaneous dangerous goods, non-flammable gas, flammable liquid, and explosive and radioactive material, DOJ said.
The company issued a statement confirming the fine, and saying that it “had cooperated with the government throughout its investigation.”
CNF is ranked No. 4 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
DHS Expected to Release Visa-Tracking Plan
The Department of Homeland Security said that it expects to release its blueprint for a program to track every foreign national entering the country with a visa, the Washington Post reported.The program, which is being called one of the largest information technology programs ever, could cost anywhere between $3 billion and $10 billion, analysts told the Post.
Under the system, U.S. consular officials would fingerprint and photograph visa applicants in their home country. That biometric data would then be checked against terrorist and criminal watch lists. Border agents will then scan travelers’ fingerprints to make sure they match those listed on the visa, the Post said.
The system is designed to keep terrorists from obtaining visas or from entering the country fraudulently, the Post said. Transport Topics
TSA Chief Touts Passenger Screening System
Transportation Security Administration chief James Loy urged airlines to participate in the government’s planned passenger-screening system, and said that he could order carriers to turn over customer information if they did not voluntarily do so, the Wall Street Journal reported.The warning came after some airlines began to distance themselves from the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System II, or CAPPS II, program, the Journal said.
JetBlue, which drew fire for sharing the backgrounds of 5 million passengers with a defense contractor for a study of how to improve security at military bases, said it would not participate in the government’s plan unless federally mandated to do so. The company cited privacy concerns and uncertainty about the final shape of the system, the paper said.
The system would examine the records of passengers and flag a percentage as being elevated risks, but Loy said the vast majority of consumers would be deemed low risk, the Journal reported. Transport Topics
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