The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this month plans to initiate a pilot project that involves inspecting cargo bound for passenger aircraft using existing X-Ray and explosive trace detection (ETD) systems to meet cargo screening requirements imposed by Congress. Under a new Broad Agency Announcement for its Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP), TSA is seeking responses from interested Indirect Air Carriers to volunteer for the pilot project. Last year Congress approved the 9/11 Commission Act, which among other things, calls for TSA to establish by Aug. 3, 2010, a system to screen 100 percent of all cargo to be shipped on passenger aircraft. The law also sets an earlier deadline, Feb. 3, 2009, for TSA to have a system in place to screen 50 percent of all cargo bound for passenger planes. Indirect carriers are being used because they can typically screen individual packages before configuring them in bulk for delivery to an air carrier. At some point the CCSP will replace the Known Shipper program. For the pilot, TSA plans to evaluate technologies it recommends, and has previously certified, based on commodity class at the Indirect Air Carriers’ facilities. Those technologies include the OSI Systems [OSIS] 620 DV Advanced Technology X-Ray system, Smiths Detection’s Hi Scan 6040 aTiX AT X-Ray system, General Electric’s [GE] Itemiser 2 ETD and Smiths Ionscan 400B ETD. Sol. No. HSTS02-08-BAA-001. Respond by Feb. 8. Contact: Guy Galloway, contracting officer, 571-227-3727, [email protected].
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