The United States and China have launched a radiation detection system at a Shanghai port as part of a global effort to stop the smuggling of nuclear materials, Xinhua reports.

    The equipment, installed in Yangshan, will be able to detect nuclear and other radioactive materials in cargo containers, the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a statement.

    "This port demonstrates in a real, significant, symbolic way as well, the commitment of the Chinese government to detecting nuclear material and combating nuclear terrorism," Thomas D'Agostino, administrator of NNSA said in a speech in Shanghai.

    The device is part of the NNSA's Megaports Initiative, the goal of which is to equip more than 100 seaports with radiation detection equipment to scan about 50 per cent of global shipping traffic by 2018. So far, 34 ports have been installed with the equipment.

    With the Chinese-made equipment installed for the Megaports project, Shanghai now has the capacity to screen 100 per cent of its exports for radiation, D'Agostino said.

    The Yangshan port shipped 3.86 million TEU in the first 10 months of this year, with 679,042 of them - or about 17.6 per cent destined for the US.

source:en.portnews.ru