The Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) participated this week in a ceremony commemorating the transition of a radiation detection system at the Port of Yangshan to the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC).
This system, provided by the NNSA’s Second Line of Defense (SLD) program, enhances China’s capabilities to deter, detect, and interdict illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological materials that may be moving through the global maritime shipping system.
The ceremony marks the transition of this system and GACC’s commitment to operate and maintain it over the long-term.
“We applaud GACC’s commitment to combatting nuclear smuggling in the global maritime shipping system,” said David Huizenga. “This transition ceremony heralds a new phase in the SLD-GACC relationship, and we will continue to amplify our engagements to a higher and more technical levels in the coming years.”
The SLD installation at the Port of Yangshan was completed in November 2011. Over a three year transition period, SLD and GACC worked toward enhancing GACC’s capabilities and expertise in order to operate and maintain the radiation detection system autonomously.
SLD and GACC have also collaborated on a cost-sharing basis to develop a Radiation Detection Training Center at China Customs’ Qinhuangdao Training Center, in their joint efforts to combat nuclear terrorism. The center has been used to deliver radiation detection training to hundreds of GACC officers deployed across China.
SLD and GACC have also agreed to continue their cooperation on a technical level as GACC implements detection systems at other key locations throughout China. These activities have served to deepen the ties between the NNSA and GACC; and have contributed to NNSA’s mission of reducing the global danger of weapons of mass destruction.