Senators Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) announced today that the Department of Homeland Security is awarding a contract of $1.1 billion for border and port security to three companies, including Canberra of Meriden. The contracts will cover the development of radiation detection devices which eventually will be installed at nearly all our nation’s 361 seaports and major border crossings.
“Our ports are our nation’s front doors. They shouldn’t be vulnerable and ignored but vigilantly patrolled and protected,” said Dodd. “These resources can help better protect our nation from harm and I’m proud that Connecticut workers are once again helping to provide the cutting-edge technology that can help make Connecticut and our nation more secure.”
“This contract addresses the serious vulnerability our nation faces at our ports and borders,” Lieberman said. “I am heartened that a respected Connecticut company has been entrusted with this important task and proud that Connecticut workers will be contributing to the security of this nation. These monitors will give our border and port security officials a more sophisticated tool to better detect dangerous radiological or nuclear materials. While there remains much more we can, and must, do to secure our ports and borders, this measure is an important step forward.”
The portal monitors will be deployed at all major ports and border crossings and represent the next generation of radiation detection technology. They can distinguish between the benign radiation emitted by ordinary goods from more dangerous radiation being emitted from radiological or nuclear materials that terrorists might attempt to smuggle into the U.S.