October 30, 2010 11:20 AM
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Security Gaps Plague Cargo Shipping
On any given day about 37,500 tons of packages are shipped on cargo planes in this country, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. In addition, another 12,500 tons of cargo are sent on passenger planes.
At New York airports, that's about 5,500 tons a day; 4,400 tons a day in Los Angeles and more than 2,700 at Chicago's O'Hare.
And while 100 percent of cargo on commercial flights is inspected in some way, screening on cargo flights is far from perfect.
"There is no effective screening process in place right now," said Larry Johnson, an aviation security expert. "There is no requirement to interrogate a package or every package or a sample of packages that are going on board a cargo aircraft to determine whether or not it has a bomb on board."
Estimates are, only a fraction of cargo planes are inspected --less if the cargo has been sent through what's called the known shipper program. With a background check, shippers in that program essentially operate on the honor system.
As of 2008, the TSA says it had 1.4 million approved shippers.
In October of 2006, CBS News tested air cargo security, sending six lead-lined boxes that could have contained a bomb - but instead held high-speed film - on commercial and cargo flights from London, Rio, Paris, and the Washington, D.C. area. The packages were designed to tell us whether they had been opened or x-rayed by security.
Air Cargo Loopholes May Risk Security
Two of our packages were sent on planes containing nothing but cargo - both arrived in our New York offices unopened.
Just one of the six packages CBS sent was opened or inspected.
"We have made a lot of progress in the screening of cargo but this gives us another warning that we should complete the process," said Congressman Ed Markey, D-Mass.
TSA continues to use what it calls a "multi-layered" approach to overall cargo security, including bomb-sniffing dogs and no-notice inspections. But with so much cargo in the air, even this kind of security is hardly terror proof.
Explosives Found on Planes amid US Terror Probe
Obama Won't Change Travel Plans in Light of Threat
Yemen Eyed as Source of Suspicious Packages
Obama Learned of Terror Threat Late Last Night
Suspicious Packages Headed to Jewish Centers
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. At New York airports, that's about 5,500 tons a day; 4,400 tons a day in Los Angeles and more than 2,700 at Chicago's O'Hare.
And while 100 percent of cargo on commercial flights is inspected in some way, screening on cargo flights is far from perfect.
"There is no effective screening process in place right now," said Larry Johnson, an aviation security expert. "There is no requirement to interrogate a package or every package or a sample of packages that are going on board a cargo aircraft to determine whether or not it has a bomb on board."
Estimates are, only a fraction of cargo planes are inspected --less if the cargo has been sent through what's called the known shipper program. With a background check, shippers in that program essentially operate on the honor system.
As of 2008, the TSA says it had 1.4 million approved shippers.
In October of 2006, CBS News tested air cargo security, sending six lead-lined boxes that could have contained a bomb - but instead held high-speed film - on commercial and cargo flights from London, Rio, Paris, and the Washington, D.C. area. The packages were designed to tell us whether they had been opened or x-rayed by security.
Air Cargo Loopholes May Risk Security
Two of our packages were sent on planes containing nothing but cargo - both arrived in our New York offices unopened.
Just one of the six packages CBS sent was opened or inspected.
"We have made a lot of progress in the screening of cargo but this gives us another warning that we should complete the process," said Congressman Ed Markey, D-Mass.
TSA continues to use what it calls a "multi-layered" approach to overall cargo security, including bomb-sniffing dogs and no-notice inspections. But with so much cargo in the air, even this kind of security is hardly terror proof.
Explosives Found on Planes amid US Terror Probe
Obama Won't Change Travel Plans in Light of Threat
Yemen Eyed as Source of Suspicious Packages
Obama Learned of Terror Threat Late Last Night
Suspicious Packages Headed to Jewish Centers
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