Temporarily shutting down all the airports after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks crippled the US economy. A terrorist attack involving a weapon of mass destruction at just one US seaport could kill it, warns a senior Department of Transportation official.

In testimony before a Senate subcommittee last week, Capt. William Schubert, the Transportation Department’s maritime administrator stated that U.S. seaports may be the most vulnerable locations for terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction. 

An attack on even one ship would probably force the closure of all 361 ports for months, according to Schubert. "We would have to shut our ports down for four months just to check all the containers," he said. "If anything would ruin our economy, that would." [Full testimony of Capt. Schubert]

The "containers" Schubert mentioned are the 40-foot "sea/land" containers, thousands of which arrive at U.S. seaports every day. The containers are welded shut at the foreign ports and unless U.S. Customs agents take peek, are delivered -- still unopened -- to cities across the country. Perfect places for terrorists to hide and deliver nuclear weapons, according to transportation officials.

Currently, 90 percent of all goods in global trade travel via containerized sea cargo -- a fact not lost on Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), whose home state of California hosts three of the nation's busiest ports in Los Angeles, Oakland and Long Beach. "If it comes to commerce or protection, protection will always come first," said Feinstein. "I don’t mind our ports being shut down for four months if that will prevent a nuclear explosion. That’s nothing."

Lead detectors needed, says Customs
U.S. Customs inspectors currently use X-ray, dogs, and handheld radiation detectors to scan the ocean-going containers. But Customs Service assistant commissioner Bonni Tischler told the Senate subcommittee that inspectors should be equipped with lead detectors. 

According to Tischler, terrorists sophisticated enough to create a nuclear weapon would know their bombs would be found by radiation detectors and protect them by lining the containers with lead. "If it’s shielded, you’re not going to pick it up, so I think we need lead detectors," Tischler said. [Full testimony of Ms. Tischler]

Customs officials say that no more than 10 percent of the 6 million seagoing containers arriving in the U.S. yearly currently undergo X-ray scanning. While the X-ray scanners currently in use do detect lead, the massive crane-mounted machines are slow. The sheer time required to move them around busy docks makes scanning more containers economically unfeasible. Handheld X-ray scanners, capable of detecting lead-lined containers, would allow scanning of a much higher percentage of containers, assistant commissioner Tischler told the Senators.

Repeating her opinion that safety should take precedence over economics, Sen. Feinstein agreed. "Everything has been to speed trade, let it go through, ask questions later, said the Senator. "I agree on the shielding, and I agree with the need for more X-rays."