Nuclear Security on the Frontline

Port Klang, on the Straits of Malacca outside Kuala Lumpur, the twelfth largest port in the world, handles over 18000 containers daily. Bustling around the clock, Port Klang is strategically located at a crossroads of trade routes in South East Asia and is a major trans- shipment hub for cargo moving from sea to land and air. Cargo of all types passes through Port Klang. All of these goods are carefully monitored by the national authorities to detect radioactive signatures. The diversity of products causes daily challenges for nuclear security. False alarms for radioactivity can be triggered by commonly traded goods, including building materials like sandstone, and cement, food stuffs like bananas and coffee, and household items like TVs and smoke detectors. However, similar cargo can also contain nuclear and other radioactive material that may be illegally trafficked through ports, which are a prime transport pathway used by smugglers to move such materials around the world. (author)