CBP and Coast Guard Issue Joint Statement Regarding Vessels from Japan

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March 24, 2011

On March 22, 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) issued a joint statement regarding cargo and vessels from Japan entering the United States. According to the joint statement, no person, baggage, cargo or aircraft that had entered the United States as of March 22^nd had received a positive alert for harmful radiation levels. The USCG and CBP do not expect to find harmful levels of radiation reaching the United States; however they have implemented additional radiation screening measures out of an “abundance of caution.”

 

The USCG has implemented additional protocols for vessels that have transiting within 50 miles of the Fukushima Dai’ichi reactors in Japan. Vessels which transited through this area must annotate this information on their Notice of Arrival, and the USCG will perform additional screening on these vessels prior to entry into a U.S. Port. CBP will continue to apply the standard screening protocol for radiation detection as well as increased measures on vessels entering from Japan. CBP has instructed port directors to meet vessels arriving from Japan at their first port of arrival to conduct a radiation assessment of the vessels and pier-side screenings of a sample of the cargo. If it is determined that radiation levels are unsafe, CBP will notify the affected carrier and coordinate a response.

According to the United States Council for International Business, between March 14, 2011, and March 23, 2011, CBP processed over 175,000 passengers, 50,000 shipments of air cargo, and 350,000 pieces of luggage from Japan. Only one passenger radiation case has been detected, with very low levels of radiation and no risk to health. Air cargo shipments set off three dozen radiation alarms, but all were resolved as low level. Very low levels of radiation were also detected in 13 bags. Radiation readings taken on March 22, 2011 in the Port of Los Angeles averaged between 6 and 10 microrems. It is normal protocol to use additional screening for a reading of 4,500 microrems or higher.   CBP has incorporated additional protocols along with normal protocol to scan cargo and vessels, however CBP is not expected to provide formal guidance regarding testing procedures. CBP will answer specific questions that arise.

According to the United States Council for International Business, the LA-Long Beach port has adopted the following procedure as a “best practice” for vessels arriving from Japan and the CBP is encouraging other ports to do the same:

- Meet the vessel dockside
- Board the vessel and conduct a brief scan of the upper deck
- Screen an initial sample of containers coming from Japan as they are offloaded
- If no harmful radiation levels are detected in the sampling of the upper and outer decks, CBP will return to normal operational posture. This includes sending containers to the radiation portal monitors at the exit gates of the major seaports